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.