We present a first-principles derivation of the observed cosmological constant (dark-energy density rhoLambda approximately 5. 96e-27 kg/m³) within the Intent Tensor Theory (ITT) pre-geometric framework. The cosmological constant is identified as the residual bleed of pre-geometric radiation from the Collapse Tension Substrate (CTS) through the Hubble-horizon closure shell at the suppressed rate beta = exp (-S*cos), where S*cos is the minimal admissible closure action of the observable Hubble horizon. From the Stratification Theorem and IHCTB operational manifold: S*cos = ln (AH / lP²) + ln (2 / 3*OmegaLambda) + deltaₜop approximately 283. 093, yielding beta approximately 1. 133e-123. The predicted ratio rhoLambda / rhoP approximately 1. 133e-123 (where rhoP approximately 5. 16e96 kg/m³ is the Planck-scale substrate energy density) matches the observed value to within 2% of current cosmological parameters. The same Allen-Cahn dynamics that govern polarity emergence, sub-key recursion, and radiation inflation produce this suppression without additional fields or tuning. The equation of state is exactly w = -1 (constant), consistent with Planck 2018 + DESI 2024 data under LambdaCDM. The derivation is fully operator-derived from the Collapse Genesis Stack and IHCTB manifold. The 123-order-of-magnitude discrepancy between Planck-scale vacuum energy and observed dark energy is not a fine-tuning problem: it is ln (AH / lP²) approximately 283, the log of the number of Planck areas inside the observable horizon. No graviton, no separate inflaton, and no vacuum-energy fine-tuning are required. Full derivation in Pre-Veil Mechanics Volume I (Knight 2026, DOI: 10. 5281/zenodo. 19507308).
Armstrong Knight (2026) studied this question.