autonomous railmakers will notice     
  wildlife in their path and stop,      
  
 sound  a  horn,   nudge   the  animal  a 
 little,  but  ultimately  wait  it  out. 
 although they  will log video,  no  call 
 will    be   made    for   any   outside 
      assistance. this is very good.      
                                          
 the railmakers are siemens-manufactured  
 brick-like  things.  fields of  gray and 
     teal, floodlights, thrumming and     
 hissing. trilling  to  each other,  like 
 language.   and  here,  three  of  them, 
 slowly  making  their  way  through  the 
              dense forest.               
                                          
 i'm  coming up on  them  from behind and 
 to the left,  hidden  behind  the  thick 
 foliage.  their  light  finds  the  gaps 
     between the leaves, casting rays     
 through  the  wet  air, playing  over my 
 face and arms,  and my weapon. i quickly 
 overtake them,  crouch in the ditch made 
 by the preprocessor,  and watch. one  of 
 them  is  already  a   bit   behind  the 
 others.   it   will    be   my   target. 
                                          
 just as the light of the leading two  is 
 dimming,  i deploy the rabbits, throwing 
 them  in  the  path  of   my  prey.  the 
 creatures are  yet  alive, but maimed so 
 as  to  be unable  to  move - they  will 
 stay  in  the  path  of  the  railmaker, 
 forcing it to  pause, further separating 
         it from its two friends.         
                                          
                                          
  
  another thing about the machines:     
  there's flesh inside them.  
  not meat, 
 but something  like  a liver, that  will 
  keep the railmakers internal chemistry  
 well away from  their various  exhausts. 
                                          
 a liver that,  as long as you  manage to 
 keep  it  alive,  can  clean  the  creek 
 water  enough  for it to  be  drinkable. 
                                          
          which is why i'm here.