>>128 They started analyzing superstring theory formulas which were said to be extremely difficult.
As they waded through a complex series of calculations, a formula took shape that dictated the relationship between the general theory of relativity and elementary particles, two things that had seemed completely unrelated before. It was as they were doing some final calculations to make sure there were no contradictions in the formula that it happened.
The number 496 came out as the solution to the formula again and again. 496, a perfect number, and one that was worshipped in ancient Greece as being related to the creation of the universe. The fact that that number was popping up everywhere meant that there was a beautiful kind of harmony between the vast universe and the microscopic world held within the formula. "As soon as we started discussing the number, a bolt of thunder resounded in the sky. There was not a doubt that it was God. We had come too close to the answer and invoked His wrath."
