Siege of the Tower of Scholasticus

A man on a journey came into a town near the end of the day, looking for a place to stay. But the further along he went, the more perplexed he became. The houses and streets seemed to be flung about every which way. While he saw the occasional well-built house, many seemed slapped together. But he saw among the hovels vast artifices made of costly materials, but with grotesque shapes. There were also fences painted various colors, dividing the town into sections. And as he walked, he noticed that the people were all wearing bandanas that matched the colors of the fences. He also noticed in the very center of the town a huge tower, large as a skyscraper, that rose with a strict, though complicated, pattern, a model of order compared to the rest of the town.

"Are you a stranger?" said a man with an orange bandana, walking up to him. "You need to pick your party if you want to be welcome here. May I suggest joining us Oranges."

"What are the parties about?" asked the man.

"They are about anything. We are not Scholasticans after all. They are just your party. But you better come along; it is time for the siege."

All of a sudden, as if on cue, the inhabitants of the town left their occupations and gathered at the center of the street to march toward the tower. Many carried torches, and some, pitchforks. The man, not sure what else to do, allowed himself to be swept along.

As the crowd gathered before the tower, a man in a blue bandana, obviously a leader, was haranguing his followers. "The Scholasticans are the greatest enemies of true service to the King. They are cold and rigid and lack true zeal for the King's service. They are proud and think they know it all and will not come down to help us with the work."

 "Their knowledge is nothing but book knowledge," said a green-wearing man nearby. "Their heads are in the clouds, and they know nothing of real life. I caught my son reading a book once, and I saw that he caught it hot."

"They produce division and lack of love," said a red-wearing man, trying hard not to stand too close to a yellow-wearing man next to him.

"Look what great things we have accomplished since we shut them up in the tower!" said a man wearing purple, pointing to one of the large artifices nearby, which looked sort of like a tilted, lopsided mushroom.

"They use all sorts of big words only they understand," remarked a man wearing brown. "They want to make us dependent on their interpretation so they can enslave us."

Just then one of the large windows in the tower opened, and hot water came pouring down, forcing the crowd to draw back. "You ignoramuses!" came a voice from above, "You want to serve the King. but you have no idea what that service involves. If you would stop and think for a moment, you would realize you are wasting all manner of energy and accomplishing nothing." 

At this point the man could not take it any more. He stood in the midst of the scene and yelled, "Do you not see that you are all citizens of the King and all have a place in His service? You need to put aside your enmity and work together. You need to do the King's work, rather than fighting each other."

They all looked at him like he was crazy.