The Doomsday Clock was moved to 90 seconds to midnight yesterday, the closest it has ever been. Here, Newcastle moved to within 90 minutes of Wembley. Which will come first - the planet's annihilation or Tyneside's celebration?
It would certainly feel like the end of the world for Eddie Howe and his players were they not able to convert this one-goal advantage into a two-legged victory next Tuesday.
While scientists have warned we are edging towards armageddon and have adjusted their symbolic clock accordingly, a new era is only just beginning at St James' Park.
Had you, as recently as 18 months ago, predicted they would now be third in the Premier League and closing in on silverware for the first time in 54 years, those same men in white coats may well have been called in.