The Autumn After Next

"The Autumn After Next" by Margaret St. Clair is a science fiction story about Neeshan, a wizard on a mission to share his magical knowledge with the Free'l tribe, who are not really interested in learning. Neeshan tries to show them how powerful and useful magic can be, but they would rather relax and enjoy life than study spells. As Neeshan gets more and more frustrated, he tries to force them to learn, but his plan goes wrong, and the spells they cast unexpectedly turn him into stone. The story shows how hard it can be to connect with people who have different ways of seeing the world, and it also looks at what happens when someone tries to control others, ending with a reflection on the community's unwavering belief in magic, despite the wizard's unfortunate fate.