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.