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.