Once upon a time there was a beautiful city. The city was surrounded on all sides by lush, fertile farm lands, and thick dark forests. The city had a bustling commerce center, and right through the middle was a crystal clear river, the delight of the inhabitants. But the city had a problem. Right in the middle of the city there was a tall tower, and at the very top of the tower lived an evil old wizard. The wizard wanted to gain control of the city, but he knew that if the city inhabitants knew he was doing so they would try to kill him. But the old wizard was very crafty, and so he created four golems.
He named the golems Medius, Arminus, Politicus, and Corpratas. He sent Medius out to the public first, and Medius had the job of convincing the people that they needed these golems to be happy. Medius did so by spreading lies that the city’s peaceful neighbor was planning on attacking the city, and stealing all the wealth, and enslaving the citizens. The townspeople became frightened, and demanded that something be done. Medius then introduced Politicus. Politicus promised to protect the people by controlling Arminus, who had a big sword. Arminus, Politicus promised, would be used only to defend the city. Of course, to defend the city Arminus needed some of the townspeople’s gold. So the people, frightened by the lies of Medius and Politicus gave a tithe of their gold willingly. Medius then began going around to the townspeople, and convincing them that the old ways of doing things were inefficient, and backwards. Medius pointed to other cities that had technological advancements, and said that the city needed those advancements, or they would lose their place among the world stage.
While Medius was spreading these lies, Politicus took some of the gold that they had taken from the townspeople and gave it to Corpratas. Corpratas used the gold to develop products to make the townspeople’s lives easier, and yet make them more reliant on the golems. Corpratas made food that tastes far better than anything the townspeople had ever tasted, and was addictive, and made the people sick. By this time, the people were clamoring for these products, because Medius had convinced them that they were necessary. So the townspeople gave Corpratas what little gold they had not given to Politicus, in return for these wonderful and terrible new products.
Corpratas and Politcus were great friends, and so they shared this gold back and forth, one giving the gold they had taken from the townspeople to the other, and the other giving gold in return. When the townspeople began to grow tired of giving gold to Politcus, Arminus marched through the town, and took the gold with the threat of his big sword. Medius followed after and told what terrible things would happen if Politcus didn’t get the gold.
At this point in the story you might be inclined to think that the evil old wizard was after the townspeople’s gold. But the evil wizard was not interested in such petty things. You see, the wizard had put a lot of his power into the golems, and he wanted them to get him even more power. He was a devilishly intelligent wizard, and he knew that people would get tired of his golems after awhile, and he would lose his grip on the people. So one day, when the people were getting frustrated with being stolen from, and were skeptical of the threat of outside war, Medius began telling a new tale. Medius told of how Politicus was being irresponsible with the people’s money, and how the power had gone to Politcus’ head. The townspeople, fueled by Medius, found Politcus, and dismantled the golem. However, because they had already been brainwashed into believing they needed a Politcus, they fashioned a new golem, one that Medius and Arminus promised them could be trusted to do only what it promised, and no more.
Far away, in the top room of the highest tower of the city, the old wizard smiled, and watched in the mirror as he grew a little younger, and a little stronger. For you see, he had designed the golems with a very clever spell inside of them, a spell that was triggered when they were destroyed and replaced. This spell gave power and youth back to the wizard, who gained more control over the golems, and over the people of the city.
For generations this cycle went on, until the wizard was a young wizard, handsome and fierce. The townspeople grew tired of this cycle, and defeated in the hope that the golems would ever return to their original purpose. The golems grew more and more bold, and began taking more gold, driving the city into financial despair. The golems began to do terrible things, always hoping to push the townspeople into revolution, so their master would get stronger.
But the townspeople began to make the connection between the golems and the tower at the city’s center. They searched back through the history of the town, until they came to writings about the evil old wizard. They began to watch, and saw how powerful the wizard was. The townspeople knew they could not storm the tower, and kill the wizard, for he was much too strong, and was protected by Arminus, who had a much bigger and sharper sword now. And so, in dark alleys and small pubs, a new plan began to be hatched, one that would defy the traditional notions of what to do about the golems.
The townspeople watched as day by day the golems got stronger, and uglier. Medius was seen throughout the town, urging the people to destroy the golems, and build new ones. The people of the city planted their heels in the dirt, and clenched their jaws and ignored the terrible things that the golems were doing. They began to teach each other the forgotten skills of their ancestors, when they were not dependent on the products of Corpratas, and began telling truths, not tainted by Medius’ lies.
The Wizard in the tower began to panic, as he was getting old again, and his golems were beginning to get harder and harder to control. The golems began to crumble, looking more haggard by the day. They became more vicious, lashing out at the townspeople for no reason, hoping to provoke a response. And still the townspeople turned their heads, and continued their studies. Finally, the golems marched into the heart of the city, smashing in doors and dragging people into the streets. It was the final stand of the golems, and they were more vicious than ever before. The entire city looked upon the golems, and saw them for the evil that they were, and as one vowed to never again allow fear to let them be slaves. The golems, weakening now to the point of crumbling, fell as one, no longer able to support themselves. On the wind, a long howl could be heard from the top of the tallest tower, as the old wizard, old and feeble once again, lost his only source of power, and died.
The city decided to leave the tower intact, as a reminder to why they must never allow lies and fear to control them. The remains of the golems lay at the base of the tower still, a daily sight for the happy, peaceful town that had regained its freedom.
Ki Vick
2011
