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.