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.