Read The Unofficial Hunger Games Companion Online
Authors: Lois H. Gresh
The Unofficial Hunger Games Companion (20 page)
String silencers | As the name implies, a string silencer dampens the vibration noises of your string. Typically, you attach a rubber strip about six inches from the end of the string. You knot the strip in place, then use a knife or scissors to shear the strip into threads. |
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Kisser buttons | This is a plastic disk inserted on the string to help with accurate target sighting. The kisser button touches the archer’s mouth at the same place every time she shoots an arrow. |
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Wrist slings | Typically made from leather or another strong material, the wrist sling attaches to the bow directly under the grip and loops over your wrist. Its purpose is to help ensure that you don’t drop the bow after releasing the arrow. |
Even someone skilled with basic archery equipment would have a hard time with the sophisticated and unusual equipment described in the above “Scopes and Gadgets: A Partial List” box. These additional mechanisms and techniques require practice at varying distances and reaction speeds.
Added to the sophistication of the bows and arrows in
Mockingjay
is the fact that the
bow recognizes Katniss’s voice
. The “Mockingjay” bow reminds her of a flying blackbird, and the bow seems to be responsive:
it vibrates
. When Katniss says “good night” to the bow, it turns off its special abilities (
Mockingjay,
69–70).
Voice recognition software is common today to convert spoken words into digital text. It often comes with the ability to recognize a speaker’s voice. While modern voice recognition software learns the attributes of a particular person’s vocal sounds and can recognize what that person is saying in many cases, it’s very weak in understanding what other people say.
When first using a voice recognition system, you must speak to it until it learns to recognize your voice. Sophisticated algorithms are used to create the software because everyone’s voice differs based on the shapes and sizes of our mouths and vocal chords.
One of the first real applications of Hidden Markov Models was speech recognition software in the 1970s. These models analyze each vocal signal as a static, or stationary, item; for example, a few millisecond utterance might be stored as a discrete item. In extremely simple terms, each utterance (possibly a phoneme) then has a unique statistical output distribution. Again, this is a very simplistic view of how Katniss’s bow might work.
Instead, the bow may recognize her voice using other algorithms or possibly—though unlikely—a simple neural network. Pattern matching algorithms, decision trees, and other audio techniques are possible. But most likely, the bow employs a Hidden Markov Model.
The arrows are also unlike anything Katniss has seen before. They explode, they are “razor sharp,” they cause fires. But with a simple “good night” to the bow, these features turn off (
Mockingjay,
70).
Anyone who has seen
Rambo
remembers exploding arrows, which are also common in a large number of comic books and action films. But probably nobody can beat the Green Arrow from DC Comics, who uses all sorts of crazy arrows, such as ones containing:
Corrosive acids.
Atomic warheads.
Cryonic devices that freeze targets on impact.
Grappling hooks.
Ice cutters.
Explosives that detonate on impact.
Firecrackers.
Fire extinguishers.
Handcuffs.
Harpoons.
Boxing gloves.
Balloons.
Antlers.
Buzz saws.
