The Principia gets its name from the Latin
principio: in principle, in the beginning, from this point stems something. The first words of the Latin Vulgate or Vulgata - the Bible - are "
In Principio." John figured that it was a fitting place to make his first chronological appearance. His younger self would be getting mixed up in a diplomatic situation any day now, and he had to get here before anyone knew who he was. As he opened the janitor's closet, the sharp dressed man strode out of his library with several books in hand. His mission was not to get caught here, or cover his tracks if he did. It was hard to sneak around when you weren't invisible, that isn't saying that John Smith was ever invisible despite knowing people who were, but he quietly slipped through the hallways of the building, marveling at the architecture like he did every time he entered the Camp. Something about his childhood squalor in Victorian England made it seem surreal even though it'd been years since he was back "home."
That didn't matter as John trod down the corridor, through a few doors, and finally finding a crossroads. He had no idea which way to turn. Despite how much he knew, his information was sometimes garbled by what was, what had been, and what could be. That problem was plaguing him now as he stood unable to figure out whether to turn left or right. He needed to leave the books on a desk, and the person who owned that desk needed to read the marked pages. "Why couldn't there be signs leading people around. You know, what ever HAPPENED to signs, there used to be signs for anything and everything," John cursed quietly to himself. "God knows I need directions."
Before he figured out which way to turn, he had a silent thought: I hope no one finds me in here. That wouldn't be good. That wouldn't be good at all.