The United States Air Force sends a B-47 bomber to drop an atomic bomb on Kronos on Eliot's recommendation, but Gaskell warns the Air Force General in charge of the mission that an atomic explosion will simply supply Kronos with more massive amounts of energy. The General attempts to abort the bombing mission, but Kronos magnetically draws the jet to crash into it, and absorbs the bomb's nuclear blast. The alien machine, now grown to an immense size, appears unstoppable, harvesting all forms of energy at will.