The only person who would reveal Penny's identity to his parents—Raj immediately thought of Sheldon Cooper.
On the one hand, Sheldon was the only person he had offended recently, and he had been clamoring for revenge ever since. On the other hand, this was exactly the kind of thing Sheldon would do.
In the show, Sheldon had once blackmailed Leonard by threatening to tell the Koothrappali couple about Priya's relationship with him, forcing Leonard to sign an extremely unreasonable roommate agreement under duress.
"Okay, since you want to play like this, don't blame me for being rude," Raj decided silently, his jaw clenched with determination.
Downstairs, after Penny returned to her car, she didn't drive away immediately.
She wanted to give Raj a chance, sitting there and waiting for him to come down and ask her to stay.
But unexpectedly, Penny waited for what felt like an eternity, checking her rearview mirror repeatedly, yet she never saw him appear. Finally, angry and disappointed, she started the car and peeled out with a roar of the engine.
The next day, Raj began to study the "Super Asymmetry Theory" in earnest.
In the show, Sheldon and Amy had won the Nobel Prize in Physics for this groundbreaking theory.
This was the greatest achievement Sheldon would ever accomplish, the culmination of decades of scientific research and his life's work. It could be said that this theory was more precious to Sheldon than life itself.
Originally, Raj had not intended to plagiarize this achievement.
Although he found Sheldon's poisonous tongue, insufferable conceit, and abysmal emotional intelligence frustrating, Sheldon was still technically a friend, and Raj didn't want to escalate their conflicts to such an extreme level.
But since Sheldon had resorted to such an underhanded and dirty trick, intentionally sabotaging his relationship with Penny by telling his parents, Raj was no longer going to show any mercy.
(As for the quantum navigation system, in the show, that achievement had been confiscated by the military, and Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard's combined efforts had all been for nothing. Therefore, Raj could plagiarize it without any psychological pressure or guilt.)
Although Raj was not a specialist in string theory, he understood the fundamental concepts of the theory quite well.
The so-called string theory is a framework in theoretical physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity.
It proposes that the most basic unit constituting all matter is not a point particle, but rather a tiny, vibrating strand of "energy string." Everything from massive interstellar galaxies down to the smallest elementary particles—electrons, protons, and quarks—are all composed of these "energy lines" that occupy one-dimensional space but move through multidimensional space-time.
The current mainstream interpretation of string theory is also known as M-theory, which unified the five different versions of string theory that had previously existed. The key concept underlying M-theory is supersymmetry.
The so-called supersymmetry refers to a theoretical symmetry relationship between bosons and fermions—the two fundamental classes of particles in physics.
In supersymmetric physics, all known particles would have their own supersymmetric partners, often called "sparticles." These partners possess exactly the same quantum numbers as the original particle, with one crucial difference: the supersymmetric partner of any boson must be a fermion, and conversely, the supersymmetric partner of any fermion must be a boson.
And Sheldon's "Super Asymmetry Theory" refers to the fact that M-theory is not supersymmetric, but super asymmetric.
This completely subverted the perception of the scientific community and represented a major breakthrough in theoretical physics. Until then, string theory had remained unproven, stalling research in theoretical physics for decades.
Therefore, when the super asymmetry theory was confirmed to be true through experimental verification, Sheldon and Amy immediately won recognition and were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Raj was determined to claim this honor for himself now. Although it would be difficult, he still had confidence in his abilities.
Two days later, major media outlets around the world reported the news that scientists had discovered a super-Earth.
The reports cited the authority of the International Astronomical Union, announcing that scientists had recently discovered a terrestrial planet, TOI-1700d, in the constellation Doradus within the Magellanic Cloud region.
After multiple verifications and observations, it was confirmed that this planet is similar in size to Earth and is located at an optimal distance from its host star, placing it squarely within the habitable zone. Scientists suspected there might be liquid water on the planet's surface, along with a dense carbon dioxide atmosphere, suggesting it possessed the necessary conditions for the emergence of life.
The discovery of such a potentially habitable planet shocked the world and captured global attention.
After the reports were released, related topics quickly became trending searches on Facebook, Google, Twitter, and other platforms, sparking heated discussions among users worldwide.
The scientific community was even more excited about this discovery. Terrestrial planets had always been exceptionally rare finds, let alone potentially habitable ones.
The discovery of this planet held enormous significance for studying the origins of Earth and life itself, as well as for the ongoing exploration of extraterrestrial civilizations.
"Raj, is the terrestrial planet you discovered really located in the constellation Doradus in the Magellanic Cloud?" During lunch time at the university cafeteria, Howard asked Raj with evident surprise.
"Yeah, that's right. What's the matter?" Raj nodded casually as he took a bite of his sandwich.
"You're asking what's the matter? Haven't you read the news? The media has been reporting it everywhere, and the entire scientific community has become a sensation!" Howard said, his voice rising with excitement.
"Oh, I've been so busy conducting research these past two days that I really didn't pay attention to the news," Raj waved his hand dismissively.
The "Super Asymmetry Theory" was not something easy to tackle. This was the most cutting-edge, advanced, and enigmatic theory in the field of physics today.
But Raj's true strength lay in astrophysics, which was still considerably different from string theory and particle physics. Although the fields weren't completely unrelated, it wouldn't be easy to make significant achievements in an area outside his primary expertise.
"You really are late to your own party," Howard laughed heartily. "In any case, you've definitely made it big this time."
Independently discovering a habitable planet is luckier than winning a $50 million lottery prize, and more enviable than winning a Nobel Prize. After all, there have been hundreds of Nobel Prize winners throughout history. But the habitable planets that humans have discovered so far number only slightly more than fifty.
Just as they were discussing this remarkable achievement, Dr. Gablehauser, the dean of the Department of Physics, and Seibert, the president of Caltech, entered the cafeteria together and made their way directly to Raj and Howard's table.
"Ah, my star is here!" President Seibert pressed his hands enthusiastically on Raj's shoulders and shouted happily. Then, raising his voice so the entire cafeteria could hear, he announced, "Everyone, I'm afraid you don't know yet, but our own Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali has independently discovered a habitable planet!"
"Wow!" A collective exclamation erupted throughout the cafeteria.
Most people had already read today's news and knew that a new habitable planet had been discovered somewhere in the world. But none of them had expected that this planet was actually discovered by their colleague Raj, right here at Caltech. Therefore, after the President's announcement, all eyes turned toward Raj with newfound admiration and curiosity.
"Dr. Koothrappali, you are truly the pride of our school," President Seibert said warmly, beaming at Raj.
"Thank you, President! I can only achieve such an accomplishment thanks to the unwavering support of the school, especially Dr. Gablehauser, and of course my good friend Howard," Raj responded graciously. "Without the telescope he helped me assemble and calibrate, I would never have been able to find that planet."
"Very good," President Seibert said, clearly pleased. Seeing that Raj possessed such high emotional intelligence and was willing to share the credit with the school made him instantly happier about the whole situation.
Dr. Gablehauser was equally elated when he heard Raj give him credit for the discovery. Although he hadn't actually provided any substantial help with the research itself, it certainly didn't prevent him from basking in the reflected glory.
The happiest person, however, was Howard, because Raj had praised him the most sincerely, and he felt deeply moved that Raj was truly his best friend.
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