Each of the 13 chapters of the book is a portrait of humanity in one moment of its long history: from the founding of Rome to the landing of the first people on the moon. Such a portrait covers all spheres of activity of peoples who simultaneously inhabit the globe: war and economy, politics and culture, scientific research and the search for religious values. Particular attention is paid to the actions of the pioneers who lived in different regions of the Earth and, unaware of each other, or interacting with each other, explored the possible paths of mankind to an as yet undetermined future.The interval between successive slices of the historical continuum is 250 years (before New time) and 150 years in New time. Such a long period reveals the age-old rhythms of history, which are indistinguishable when looking at point-blank range, and gives the reader an integral image of the historical process over the past 27 centuries.