SHELDON: It’s possible a unicorn used the Big Bang. But without evidence, I might as well believe my Newton’s cradle is frictionless. Which it isn’t. Because the universe is cruel.

She reassembles the engine in under four minutes. It purrs to life. Georgie looks like he’s been physically stabbed.

SHELDON: (flat) I don’t. One is a falsifiable theory supported by cosmic microwave background radiation. The other is a poem about a talking snake. They serve different purposes, like a torque wrench and a bedtime story.

MISSY: It’s just five moving parts and a dream, Dad.

Sheldon picks up his failed Newton’s cradle. He looks at the spheres, then at his family—bickering, messy, imperfect.

INT. COOPER HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - LATE NIGHT

INT. COOPER HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING

GEORGE SR.: Why is there a level on the kitchen table?