Century cactus [agave] problem

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I have a very large beautiful century plant (American agave) in my back
yard.  Its probably been there at least 20 years.  The leaves are straight,
gray-green and each is about 5 ft long.

A week or 2 ago, a large stalk started, looking like a giant asparagus,
started growing up very quickly out of the middle.  The stalk is now 4 ft.
above the plant.  I know that its is part of the flowering cycle, although
it never flowered before.

My question is, will the plant die after it flowers, and if so, is there a
way to stop it from dying.