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.