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.