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.