The Three Ages of Man

"I will make men of gold," the first god declared, "beautiful and immune to corruption."
"I will make men of iron," the second god declared, "strong and hard, impervious to the attacks of beasts."
"I will make men of a bunch of stuff I grabbed," the third god declared.
"What's the advantage of that?" the others asked.
"I've got a hundred out already while you two are working on your first. Watch out there, pal! Can't have the eyes be different sizes! My people have already overrun the world, but keep working on it."
Therefore we await the advent of the men of gold and the men of iron, because they will probably be helpful to us, the rulers of everything beneath heaven, when finally they come.
Finis

Pioneer Concerns

Another historic day! Every day seemed historic, or rather, was historic. How could it not be in New Jericho, humanity's first city on another planet? The governor did a few stretches. He needed to be historically serious to deal with the momentous, era-defining task he had the unique opportunity to complete.
On his desk waited the first, no, the inaugural New Jericho survey. The colonists, chosen from a vast population by not only the examination board set up at the sponsors' request but also by their own daring personalities, had all been consulted as to the state of the city in every important facet. Beyond that, they were encouraged to write in the empty portion any items they believed to be essential for the city's prosperity that had been neglected to that point.
Governor Erle Drake sat himself down and read through the surveys, ebullient at first, then disconcerted, and at last positively discombobulated. "But . . . but . . ." His composure abandoned him just as he had left Earth. Dashing to the balcony, he yelled, "Who is it? Who thinks the most pressing business is . . . is . . . remaking astrological charts?"
"Me," a structural engineer passing below said.
"Same," concurred a nearby psychiatrist. "The stars are all different here, so, you know."
"I suppose!" Governor Drake clenched the railing and tried to expel the scorn from his words. "I suppose that next you would like us to establish a commission, for the purpose, of inventing, a creation myth for this planet! And its people!" The scorn was still there. "Oh, can we do that?" A crowd gathered below the capitol building.
"That sounds great!"
"I hope we get something more inspiring than a celestial egg."
"Can it have dragons in it?"
"Better be some incest. Not a proper creation myth without it."
"How about this for a start: once upon a time, matter was energy, and energy matter."
And so a commission was formed, and the governor lost a spoonful of enthusiasm. The next historic event corrected that deficiency, however. There was no shortage of those.
Finis

Fantasy Map Tip

Before you start sketching out the plates and wind patterns of your world, ask yourself this: "Does this world even have this junk?" Advice about fantasy maps always starts with denying the fantasy part, which is sometimes desirable but not always.