When does a fault stop sliding forward everywhere? An Evidence Press briefing. Pumping fluid into rock along a fault can make the fault slip slowly, without an earthquake. In the simplest models the slipping patch grows as an expanding circle around the well, and every point in it slides forward. When the injection rate is turned down, the pressure near the well falls first, and at some moment part of the fault can no longer keep sliding forward. After that, rules of thumb based on an expanding crack no longer apply. This release shows that one number decides when that moment comes: the slip rate at the injection point, the centre of the patch. If the injection rate rises and then falls, the whole patch is sliding forward exactly when the centre is. For schedules with many rises, falls and steps, provided injection starts gently, the whole patch keeps sliding forward exactly as long as the centre does, so the centre is always the first place to stop. Practical consequences follow. With realistic well sizes, almost any sudden cut, of more than about a tenth of a per cent, ends full sliding at once. After shut-in there is an explicit deadline by which it must end. And for a point source, no gradual linear reduction can halve the rate without it ending. The results have written proofs and numerical checks, in an idealised model with constant friction, and they say nothing about earthquake hazard after the first stop. This is an anonymous, AI-assisted, unrefereed candidate, not peer reviewed or independently reproduced. Published on 31 October 2026, its paper and evidence are linked from the Evidence Press release page. This briefing uses an AI-generated voice and is not additional scientific evidence.