An Iraqi special forces Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) member screams during a battle against Islamic State group jihadists (IS) in Mosul's al-Rifaq neighbourhood on January 8, 2017, as an ongoing military operation against the militants continues. Elite Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State group in eastern Mosul reached the Tigris River that splits the city in two for the first time, a spokesman said. (Photo by Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP Photo)

Reverend Peter Wall blesses a hamster during “The Blessing of Animals” at St. James Cathedral in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on September 30, 2023. (Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Photographer holding digital camera during photoshoot of fashion model. (Photo by grinvalds/Getty Images)

South Korean youths play Pokemon Go on July 15, 2016 in Sokcho, South Korea. South Korea is not one of the initial Pokemon Go released countries, nor is the game likely to be released officially any time soon as the South Korean government does not allow Google to use its map; however, South Korean game enthusiasts are now visiting a handful of loophole areas in the north eastern side of the country near the border of North Korea to join the global frenzy of Pokemon Go. (Photo by Jean Chung/Getty Images)

William Gibson is not one of the authors that spits out novels like a machine – in his long and fruitful career he has only published 11 novels andof short stories and articles in the tens each. Still his impact on modern literature was huge – the “noir prophet” of the cyberpunk subgenre (that he was one of the pioneers of) has predicted the rise of reality television, virtual reality, video games and the internet. He is a Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction writer, with a special eye for what the future might bring.

Richard Winsor, Ashley Shaw, Zizi Strallen, Glenn Graham, Nicole Kabera, Harrison Dowzell, Will Bozier and Cordelia Braithwaite during a photo call for Sir Matthew Bourne's The Car Man at the Royal Albert Hall, London on May 11, 2022, a reinterpretation of Bizet's Carmen, staged in 1960s American diner-garages with a specially expanded 65-dancer production for the hall, as part of its 150th anniversary. (Photo by Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)

A newly born albino red-necked wallaby joey eats as it is being carried by its mother in their enclosure at the zoo in Decin, Czech Republic, May 18, 2022. (Photo by David W. Cerny/Reuters)

A woman uses her mobile phone as she walks past a billboard with a portrait of a Russian soldier and the words “Glory to the heroes of Russia” in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, August 20, 2022. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)