"That day, I learned three things. One: the VP3 was a magnificent failure of engineering. Two: my sister has the mechanical intuition of a percussive maintenance savant. And three: sometimes the universe doesn’t conspire against knowledge—it just has a very poor sense of timing."

Sheldon becomes obsessed. He skips his weekly "Professor Proton" rerun (a first) to break into the school’s basement. He recruits an unwilling Missy, bribing her with the promise of her own phone line for a month.

The Cooper family kitchen, early morning. Sheldon, aged nine, is meticulously buttering a single piece of toast at a perfect 45-degree angle. Missy pours an obscene amount of sugar into her cereal bowl. George Sr. reads the newspaper, and Mary sips coffee while reading a Bible verse calendar.

"And you explaining it explains my 7:00 AM spiritual lull. Eat your toast, honey."

"This is economic cruelty. The reward should scale with the repair cost. I demand a renegotiation."

The Cooper family sits in the dark, watching Sheldon’s shaky, flickering projection of Saturn. George Sr. is asleep. Mary is smiling. Missy is using the light to paint her nails. Georgie sneaks a look at a pierced-ear magazine. And Sheldon, for once, doesn’t correct anyone.