A month later...
Back on earth Ray still had possession of the one weapon that could eliminate the threat to humanity called Samael. Samael was still on earth though he had never heard from Cassie afterwards.
Most likely Samael intended to finish his annihilation of earth before returning to his own dimension. The weapon did not provide him with any leads as it was a harmless stump and a smooth star-shaped disc. Ray had not returned to NASA and neither had Stanley. Both of them lodged at Ray's father old duplex apartment which they had converted into a laboratory.
Ray never told anyone how he had survived his fall from the sky. No one had pestered him for information concluding that he had suffered great trauma. Only Ray knew that there was something wrong with him. Cassandra's powers transferred to him provided him with the capability to destroy Samael and he only now needed to unlock the weapon that was meant to be his doom. But he had no control over his own powers.
Toiling night and day, Ray had failed miserably in transcribing the alien text engraved on the star. The star contained five tiny spikes on the flat surfaces of the stars which Ray used as its base. The stub was lined with gold strips along the edges. It had a pentagonal cross section. On the centre of the star was an engraving of a pentagon. Laser or Sonar or any other vibration of any frequency had failed to elicit a response out of the star. He had now taken a different approach to unlock its mystery. He searched for hidden panelling or notches on the surface of the stub but found none. Ray placed the stub on the engraving and the outline of the stub matched the engraving exactly. However nothing happened.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Ray, who was absorbed in his work, looked up startled. "Stanley! I am working." He sounded infuriated.
"You are always working. It has been over a month and nothing. It is time you took a break. I ordered a pizza. Come and eat" So saying Stanley left.
Ray nodded and stood up. Then he had a second thought and picked up the stub in one hand. In the other hand, he picked up the star and balanced the spokes on the tips of his fingers. As he did so the spokes pierced his skin. He felt the sting but saw light coming out of the engravings of the star. The star served as a projector and the entire room was filled with the alien script, only it did not feel alien to him anymore. He knew exactly what was written in the script. The light emanating from the star had bonded with the DNA in his blood and was transferring the knowledge on a molecular level activating sections of the DNA Ray rarely used. The light came out of his eyes till he finally closed his eyes and took all the information in.
Stanley had been waiting for Ray for almost an hour. He had finished his portion of the pizza and was contemplating what to do with Ray's part which was already cold. That was when Ray's door opened and he stepped out as if in a daze. Ray walked straight towards the window and opened it. They were on the eighteenth floor of the building. The wind rushed in through the open window scattering all the documents placed around the room. Stanley hardly had time to curse Ray before he got busy in gathering together all the papers. When he looked back at the window Ray was gone.
Stanley was frantic. Had ray jumped out of the window out of frustration? Stanley rushed down to the elevator and went down to the ground level to make sure there were no bloody remains of his colleague and friend. There was none.
Ray had vanished into thin air and Stanley was out of his depths. He went up to the apartment and searched everywhere. He tidied up the place and was contemplating on informing the Police when suddenly the window opened again. Stanley looked back to see Ray standing in front of the open window with light shining through his eyes.
"What happened? Were you abducted or something?" Stanley asked still unable to realize what had happened to Ray.
"I have unlocked the secret of the White Star," Ray said and sat down on the couch. After a long time, Ray smiled. Slowly the smile spread on his face and he broke out into hysterical laughter.
After he stopped laughing Stanley took a seat in front of him. He placed a glass of water on the table between them. The expression on his face simply stated "Pal! You need help." Ray laughed again, this time a more balanced exuberance. "Our approach was wrong in the first place." Then he took a long sip of the refreshingly cold water and started to explain.
"The black star was an inter-dimensional teleportation device and as such could be activated by mechanical vibration. The white star, on the other hand, is an infinite database of alien knowledge which had a bio-lock on it. The bio lock is such that only a particular strand of DNA can unlock the information contained in the star and that DNA is entered through the spokes on the underside of the star. When evenly administered at all the spokes my blood served as the key to the bio lock and as a result I could access the knowledge in the reserve. The star can also be used as a telecommunication receptor from other universe or as a shield but to use the star as such the bio lock had to be opened first. The stub is useless by itself but joins with the star to form an enhanced laser concentrating the entire solar energy in a volume of space and concentrating it in a single beam. It can actually concentrate any light in an environment, even the light of life." So saying Ray paused and studied Stanley's reaction. He knew he would have to demonstrate part of what he already knew. Only there were a few things that had posed more questions to him than the answers it had provided.
"What is the light of life?" Stanley asked, enumerating each syllable separately as if to emphasize Ray to slow down.
"The light of life or the Soul is the energy that allows us to live. Under general conditions, it serves as our life force driving our day to day activity. But as all energy may be transformed from the potential to kinetic state similarly the energy responsible for the life force may be projected beyond our physical extent. Some call it psychic powers. That energy may be amplified and modulated using this device to form a laser thus negating the effect the creature has on its surrounding. This is not just a weapon to defeat the creature. It is a weapon to render the creature's power null and void."
"If this is such an effective weapon against the creature why did the creator of this weapon not use it against it?" Stanley wondered.
"The creator had programmed the bio lock to open with a particular DNA, a sample of which he did not have," Ray explained.
"But why would he program it with your DNA?"
"I don't know Stanley. All I know is that at least there is now a way to save this planet."
"And what about Cassie?"
"What about her?"
"If you can save the planet there is no need for you to let her go."
"She made her choice. She chose her kind and I choose ours. It is time she found out how helpless and pathetic humans really are. Our coming together had a purpose and this is it. Cassie‟s gift to me will save humanity. " Was Ray referring to his powers or simply the weapon?