Jack Mercer has spent over fifty years solving problems. Aerospace engineer. Manufacturing specialist. Old-school believer in first principles, physical reality, and understanding how things actually work. Then one evening a younger engineer introduces him to artificial intelligence. At first it seems like another tool. Useful. Fast. Impressive. But as the conversations deepen, Jack begins to realize AI may represent something far larger than software. Not machine consciousness. Not science fiction. Something quieter. Distance From First Principles: Capability and Intent is a reflective near-future novel about technology, responsibility, and the uncomfortable possibility that civilization may be changing faster than humanity fully understands.