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.