[aristeides]

If the physics of the early universe was so different from that operating in our neighborhood today, could the physics of the universe at any time in the future, and, for that matter, the physics of other parts of the universe today (like, say, black holes,) also be fundamentally different?

[equus]

Yes, there are various cosmologists and theoreticians who are trying to figure out if laws could change--they might fine tune themselves--Stuart Kauffman of Santa Fe Institute & Bios Group being one, and Lee Smolin, too. Why should laws be absolutes?