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.