Perhaps they cried out in protest and in warning. but men paid no heed to their warning. and they, these few, fought a hopeless battle, and they perished with their banners smeared by their own blood. and they chose to perish, for they knew. to them, i send my salute across the centuries, and my pity.
the imagery of "a hopeless battle" to develop the theme that group thinking limits man's potential because it
(a) gives details of how violent societies can be when faced with overwhelming obstacles
(b) suggests that the group with the larger numbers always wins the battle
(c) implies that the narrator will also be killed for questioning authority
(d) depicts the collective society as a destructive force that represses the independent thinker.