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.