"Paige, do you know Sheldon?" Howard asked, his tone dripping with gossip. Paige ignored him and continued eating alone. Seeing this, Howard still didn't understand, and wanted to continue asking. Raj pushed him lightly and whispered in a low voice, "Eat your meal. Since she doesn't want to answer, she has her reasons. Don't pry." Reminded of his manners, Howard stopped talking and bowed his head to eat. Seeing that he had finally quieted down, Paige smiled gratefully at Raj.
After dinner, Raj took Paige back to the office. "Raj, let's get to work. What do you want me to do?" Paige asked.
"I want to write a paper on 'Thermal Chemical Evolution of Comet Nuclei and Kuiper Belt Objects,'" Raj said with a smile. "I need the information on this form, and I hope you can help me collect it." He handed Paige a form listing all the data he needed.
"Okay, leave it to me," Paige nodded and began to organize her approach.
Raj did not include Paige in the two projects of the quantum navigation system and "Super Asymmetry Theory" from the beginning. On the one hand, he didn't know enough about Paige's abilities to determine whether she was suitable for joining these projects. On the other hand, they had just started to cooperate and still lacked sufficient trust in each other. It would take time to get along and confirm that the other party was trustworthy before any in-depth cooperation could begin.
Paige rushed to the school library to collect materials, while Raj continued his research on "Super Asymmetry Theory." While he was busy, Howard opened the door and walked in, looked around, and smiled. "Is your beautiful assistant here?"
Raj closed the draft of his calculations without showing any emotion, then explained, "I asked her to go to the library to help me collect materials."
"Howie, I want to remind you that she is my assistant, not some girl at a party," he added. "Even if you want to pursue her, you have to wait until she's off work. You can't always look for her during work hours."
"Okay, I know. You don't have to repeat it over and over again," Howard nodded awkwardly. "I'm not here to find her this time—I'm here to find you. I've already found out about the relationship between her and Sheldon."
"Okay," Raj responded lightly, not appearing very excited.
"Why? Don't you want to know?" Seeing this reaction, Howard asked suspiciously.
"I don't want to. This is her private matter. Since she didn't want to talk about it, it's best not to inquire about it," Raj waved his hand and said.
After her parents divorced when she was eleven, Paige had abandoned herself and became so troubled that she was removed from her family and moved to a foster home. In those years, he could only imagine how many grievances and insults she had suffered. Her experience would inevitably make her sensitive, suspicious, and insecure. If he pried into her privacy without permission, it would definitely arouse her resistance. Therefore, Raj would rather not know.
Howard heard what Raj said, thought for a while, and then nodded. "Well, what you said makes sense. Then I'll go."
After work that evening, Raj continued to work with Howard and Leslie on the quantum navigation system. Paige saw that Raj didn't leave after work, so she asked, "Raj, do you want to work overtime? Do you want me to stay and help you?"
"No, I'm just using my off-duty time to do a little research. It's not a big deal, so I won't delay your evening," Raj waved his hand and smiled. "Besides, I can't afford your overtime pay either."
"Okay, then I'll go," Paige nodded without further discussion.
Raj then joined Howard and Leslie to continue research on the quantum navigation system. "Our plan has matured day by day. I think we should be able to build a prototype in two months at most," Leslie said with satisfaction.
"That's great," Raj nodded. After so much effort, he finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
"After the prototype is built, what should we do?" Howard asked. "Should we report to the school or apply for a patent?"
"It is clearly stipulated in the contract we signed with the school that the school has seventy-five percent of the equity in all research and development done while we work here," Raj said quietly.
"What? Seventy-five percent?!" Howard was taken aback. "The three of us worked hard to research this technology, and it didn't take up any resources of the school, so why does it get three quarters of the shares?!"
"Don't forget, the school has been paying us for two years. Do you really think it's charity?" Leslie shook her head.
"So you're on the side of the school?" Howard asked angrily when he heard her say that. When he thought that most of the fruits of his labor would be snatched away by the school, he felt annoyed.
"Although I'm not happy about it, that's the fact. What can you and I do?" Leslie explained.
"Hmph!" Howard snorted angrily, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, how about this—after the prototype is completed, the three of us resign from the school and then apply for a patent. If we do that, then we can enjoy this patent exclusively, right?"
"It's not so easy to take advantage of loopholes. The school will definitely sue," Raj waved his hand and said. "As long as it finds even a little bit of evidence that we researched this technology while employed at the school, we'll lose the lawsuit. At that point, we'll not only have to give back the patent, but also compensate for their losses." If it were so easy to take advantage of loopholes, all major colleges and universities in the United States would have collapsed long ago.
"Then what should we do? Just allow them to take three quarters of the patent?" Howard said unwillingly.
"Of course not," Raj waved his hand and said. "My opinion is that we let the school get three-quarters of the patent, but we also need to sign a supplementary agreement with the school, requiring that we have the leading rights to the patent. And it can only be used commercially, not for military use."
"Military use?!" Howard said in surprise.
"Yes. You and I both know how useful the quantum navigation system could be in the military field. So once the military knows that our quantum navigation system has been successfully developed, they will definitely want our technology. Once this patent is used in the military, it will become top secret, and it will be impossible for us to commercialize it. Then we can stop thinking about getting rich," Raj explained.
If the quantum navigation system were commercialized, they would start commercial cooperation with various companies, and they would have business contracts to bind each other, so that they wouldn't be wiped out. But the military operated under another set of laws entirely. If they cooperated with the military, they would be swallowed up in minutes—just like in the original timeline when Leonard, Howard, and Sheldon worked hard for a year but ended up with nothing.
Howard shuddered when he heard what Raj said. Leslie, seeing that his analysis was clear and logical, also cast an impressed gaze on him.
"With the strength of the three of us, it is difficult to compete with the military, so we have to rely on the strength of the school and the strength of external capital," Raj suggested.
Howard and Leslie nodded vigorously after thinking for a moment.
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