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.