The "reintroduction of the rest of the universe" is a euphemistic introduction of the general idea of Mach's Principle [1]. Such an idea is certainly possible,

The "reintroduction of the rest of the universe" is a euphemistic introduction of the general idea of Mach's Principle [1]. Such an idea is certainly possible, and physically interesting, but nobody's yet figured out how to test it. A well-motivated and compelling experiment to test Mach's Principle would be worthwhile and a lot of fun. The current, locally-determined, laws of physics would produce the same outcomes for our rotating astronauts with or without the presence of anything else in the universe. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mach%27s_principle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mach%27s_principle