Back at the Coit Tower, Cord reaches the top and retrieves the clue. Brent and Caite can at least see the Coit Tower from where their cab is, although I don't think they can see Cord. "I hope we're not too far behind everybody," Brent says. Cord's on his way down. "Ridin' bulls is a lot easier than that," he says. Off to the Yoda Fountain they are (last time I'm doing that, I promise).
Dan's Stormtrooper guide leads him to a cubicle with a computer and a big monitor, which is where he'll direct Jordan from. I could probably identify all the Star Wars character masks and busts that seem to be everywhere in this building, but I feel a little self-conscious namedropping the likes of Admiral Ackbar and Salacious Crumb when last week I couldn't identify a single Arhat. Meanwhile, Jordan gets into what he calls "This skinny-suit with balls all around me." He also straps on a helmet with the winged-star logo of the Jedi Order on it (you know, the one that evolved into the insignia of the Rebel Alliance years later), and now he and Jordan can hear each other through headsets. "I just put on a little suit with balls on it," Jordan tells his brother over the radio. And I'm sure he's hoping it's not the last time he does that. Dan tells us he's not a video game guy, but "More of a Boston sports guy." He explains that he can see Jordan's movements; "I need to guide him through a computerized path." Then there's a splitscreen of Jordan in the soundstage, and a digital version of Jordan in Clone Trooper armor sans helmet (specifically, the yellow-striped armor of a member of the Star Corps). Jordan's computerized face looks awesome, with a blue bandanna around its forehead and a determined set to its oversized jaw. Jordan would totally hit that, I bet. "Go to center of the blue start ring," Dan tells Jordan. Of course Jordan has no idea what he's talking about, being in an empty room. But when Jordan looks around, Dan's monitor display shifts accordingly, showing Dan what Jordan's helmet-cam would be seeing if Jordan were really out in space. Apparently the third-person view of Virtu-Jordan isn't seen by either of the players, which makes me appreciate how ILM and the producers generated that view just for those of us who are watching at home. Dan spots the starting point on his monitor, and directs Jordan to walk "toward" it. Jordan steps through the target that's invisible to him, and as he does so, digital walls and corridors zap into existence around his avatar. Dan has him turn around, and he gets a panorama of the bowels of the Tantive IV, specifically the narrow corridor leading to the escape pods. Dan sends him in that direction, telling him to slow down. When Virtu-Jordan crashes into the virtual wall, the scene abruptly disappears and Jordan has to return to the starting point. Dan tells Jordan to go slow and they'll do this right the first time. "Okay, so give me good directions," Jordan says. This is a major teamwork challenge; it's impossible for one player to do it alone, because neither of them has the whole picture. They can't even see each other. Probably the best possible strategy would be to get snippy with each other.













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