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.