 By Presidential order, the US soldiers plant a nuclear bomb inside the Torus to destroy it, and Czaban and Rand unsuccessfully try to deactivate the device to keep it from detonating.However, the Torus absorbs the blast and, seemingly satisfied by the extreme sacrifice attempted by the two scientists, ceases its actions, sheds its external shell and, in the form of an energy sphere, leaves Earth.Four months later, Rand, now cured after his exposure to Torus, receives from Czaban the news that she is pregnant, despite being sterile before their encounter with the alien artifact.