The reader will be familiarized with some inconspicuous additions to the theory of relativity and quantum theory, which concern the energy density in cosmic and sub-nuclear domains. These are seemingly technical details, but they make the extreme vividness of light and its speed understandable. We will also ask anew some questions that concern that apparently objective world, whose objectivity is not just a matter of self-evidence, but is constantly being reconstituted in intelligent awareness. Thus the vibrancy of the presence of the world emerges as a most suitable basis for physical knowledge. Finally, we will discuss the sociological conditions, which, especially in the light of the increasing global epidemics, point to an impending disintegration, even to a collapse of civil society. While new strands of human, artificial and hybrid life forms are emerging, new aviation and nuclear time travel appear in a new light. Time as we knew it is gone forever. We experience both a time-out of time and time out of time. Only the happiest of us will keep our original shape and make our way across the galaxy.