3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years

The Time Traveler's Passport

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

A time travel technician must step away from the controls and take action in a twisty short story where timing is everything, by New York Times bestselling author John Scalzi.

Time travel is real—and used for high-end tourism. Every moment of the past is open to visitors, and no matter what they do then, everything now waits for them, thanks to the sure hand of an experienced time travel technician. Come spend a day behind the controls of the time machine, and discover why, this day of all days, it’s time for this technician to make a change. Because sometimes, time travel is more than just an adventure. Sometimes, it’s a moral imperative.

John Scalzi’s 3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years is part of The Time Traveler’s Passport, an unforgettable collection of stories about memory, identity, and choice curated by New York Times bestselling anthologist John Joseph Adams. Watch time fly as you read or listen to each short story in a single sitting.

©2025 by John Scalzi. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

4.5 stars

Fantastic premise. The way he deep-plumbs 1 idea is so very Scalzi at his best. The weak ending detracted somewhat. Still, the majority was a thoroughly engaging thought experiment.

Time travel short story

John Scalzi’s 3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years is a short story about time travel. In this version of time travel, travel through time is quantized to discreet units of time. While there are shorter and longer time periods, for practical reasons, these are the ones people can use. In addition, changing the past does not change the present, but merely creates a different future for that past. The narrator is the technician who operates the time machine. He describes a number of different types of time travelers along with their successful and in many cases unsuccessful ventures. He finishes with a twist as the technician reveals his past and his reasons for taking the plunge.

The narration is excellent without the need for character distinction. Pacing is smooth.

wish it was a full sized novel!

3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years
by John Scalzi
This was a short little thing about time travel and how it works in this one office where this person worked. The length of time to be on this adventure was 3 days, 9 months, or 27 years. So, if they missed the 3-day mark to come back, they had to wait 9 months. If they missed this time, they had to make the 27-year or they were forever in the past. It was very interesting as he gave so many examples of the customers and how long they traveled. Especially how they appeared when they returned. Fascinating short read! I wish it were a full-sized novel!

Time Travel Science

This story was written for a collection on time travel. It is a short exploration of the science of time travel within an infinitely dimensional universe. It is more of a treatise on the science set with characters, than anactual adventure. There are sevarel events within the story that could be the seeds for an entire novel. I wonder if we'll get that?

Time travel with stay options of 3 days, 9 months, 27 years, or forever

Short story from the pov of the time travel technician and his observations of people: when and where they go, and why, against an ominous back story of potential environmental collapse. Entertaining 1 hour listen