- James T. Kirk: [William Shatner as James T. Kirk, in Season 1, Episode 23 of Star Trek, A Taste of Armageddon, is playing on television] They'll want to do the same. Only the next attack they launch will do a lot more than just count up numbers on a computer.
- Mary Cooper: What are you doing?
- Sheldon Cooper: Dad and I are watching Star Trek.
- [George Senior is snoring]
- Sheldon Cooper: I guess I'm watching Star Trek.
- Mary Cooper: Want me to watch with you?
- Sheldon Cooper: Sure. Let me catch you up. The Enterprise is traveling to miniar VII to resolve their war with the neighboring Vendikar.
- Mary Cooper: Uh-huh.
- Sheldon Cooper: But Kirk suspects that instead of having a real war, the miniaries and the Vendikaries are having a computer-simulated conflict.
- Mary Cooper: Uh-huh.
- Sheldon Cooper: In Kirk's opinion, by keeping the horrors of war at arm's length, they're simply prolonging it.
- Mary Cooper: Let me ask you something.
- Sheldon Cooper: Answers are my thing. Go for it.
- Mary Cooper: Do you really believe in all this space alien stuff?
- Sheldon Cooper: Well, it's simple probability theory. There are over a hundred billion stars in our galaxy. So it's likely that a few of them could support life, or even technological civilization.
- Mary Cooper: And did Jesus die for their sins as well?
- Sheldon Cooper: You have your stories, I have mine.
- Mary Cooper: [door closes] Whew. Sounds like Georgie's home. George, wake up. Watch Star Trek with your son.
- Dr. John Sturgis: Sheldon can be a bit much sometimes, but you have to admit he has a remarkable mind.
- Dr. Linkletter: As he will be the first to tell you.
- Dr. John Sturgis: [CHUCKLING] I actually miss him.
- Dr. Linkletter: I suppose things are a bit more lively when he's around.
- Dr. John Sturgis: Wouldn't it be something if he really did find life on other planets?
- Dr. Linkletter: He would immediately become the most famous scientist in the history of mankind.
- [Doctor Sturgis chuckles]
- Dr. Linkletter: Where are you going?
- Dr. John Sturgis: Just to see if he needs any help.
- Dr. Linkletter: Wait, I'll come with you.
- Sheldon Cooper: Dr. Prakash, I'm on the hunt for a mentor who's not afraid to challenge entrenched scientific paradigms.
- Dr. Prakash: Well, mainstream science has always been threatened by new ideas.
- Sheldon Cooper: True. Like Galileo being imprisoned for his heliocentric model of the universe.
- Dr. Prakash: And did you know Semmelweis was put in an asylum for suggesting that doctors wash their hands?
- Sheldon Cooper: I did. Did you know that Michael Servetus discovered pulmonary circulation and was burned at the stake?
- Dr. Prakash: Or Henry Oldenburg was arrested...
- Sheldon Cooper: ...Arrested as a spy for corresponding with scientists from other countries!
- Dr. Prakash: This isn't a competition.
- Sheldon Cooper: Oh, I thought we were bonding.
- Dr. Prakash: Fair enough. We're bonding.
- Sheldon Cooper: How would you feel about joining me in the groundbreaking search for exoplanets that could support life?
- Dr. Prakash: I'd love it. How would you feel about joining me in finding subatomic particles that move backwards in time?
- Sheldon Cooper: You mean tachyons?
- Dr. Prakash: Yes.
- Sheldon Cooper: That's nonsense. Let's get started on my thing.
- Sheldon Cooper: [Scene is interspersed with Sheldon conversing with Dr. Sturgis Linkletter and Dr. Sturgis in their respective offices] You should know, I'm replacing you with a more courageous mentor.
- Dr. John Sturgis: I'm sorry to hear that, Sheldon.
- Sheldon Cooper: One who's not afraid of new ideas.
- Dr. Linkletter: Great.
- Sheldon Cooper: Don't think of it as me walking away, think of it as you being left behind.
- Dr. Linkletter: I'm okay with that.
- Sheldon Cooper: Thank you for helping me on my journey. But you're like a rocket booster that must be discarded for me to reach escape velocity.
- Dr. John Sturgis: I understand.
- Sheldon Cooper: I'm walking away now.
- Dr. Linkletter: Goodbye.
- Sheldon Cooper: I'm walking backwards, so it seems like you're fading into obscurity.
- Dr. Linkletter: Neat.
- Sheldon Cooper: Take care... .Farewell... .Ciao... . Bon voyage.
- Dr. John Sturgis: Arrivederci... What a charming young man.
- Dr. Linkletter: Kook.
- Sheldon Cooper: So, where exactly is the telescope?
- Dr. Prakash: Hawaii. We just access its data.
- Sheldon Cooper: Ah. And what are we looking for?
- Dr. Prakash: Well, you're looking for these numbers here to change - that would indicate that the star is dimming, possibly because an orbiting planet is passing in front of it.
- Sheldon Cooper: Mm-hmm.
- [pause]
- Sheldon Cooper: Star Trek made this seem a lot more fun.
- Sheldon Cooper: While it was nice to have President Hagemeyer on my side, I still needed to find an advisor to approve my research. Some intrepid soul who was unafraid of tarnishing their reputation by taking a chance on a brilliant mind and a bold, untested idea.