Struts and beams, seismographs and counterweights, a crowbar six miles long: at last, Steadman and Chandrababu stand atop the gantry and shake hands, and it’s done. They’ve stopped the Cascadia megathrust subduction event.

“Well I can tell you that personally, it’s been a rough journey,” confesses Steadman to the lady late night host. “The men and women at CasLab are my closest friends now–we’re all the support network any of us has got.”

“What about your family?” asks the lady.

“They live on the moon,” says Steadman.

It’s evident for the first time that in total silence, the cameras hum.