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.