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.

Ballerina Kira Hilli of the Netherlands National Ballet dances in a tutu with a diameter of 3 meters for a video made for the 1.5 meter society, on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 04 June 2020 (issued on 12 June 2020). The so-called social distance tutu is made of denim fabric, specially made for the Safe Distance Ballet. (Photo by Remko de Waal/EPA/EFE)

In this photo taken October 12, 2019, a spiritual healer known as a “madrina” starts a ritual on Sorte Mountain where followers of indigenous goddess Maria Lionza gather annually in Venezuela's Yaracuy state. While her followers gather on the mountain for weeks at this time of the year, October 12 marks the biggest gathering, coinciding with Indigenous People's Day, known in Latin America as “Dia de la Raza”. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

April Haze, a San Jose-based stripper, teaches a pole dance class to her students at Revel Room Studios in Milpitas, California, April 15, 2021. As some of the United States' estimated 3,821 strip clubs start to open up again, women who work as strippers are confronting a transformed industry. Revenue in the industry is estimated to have decreased 17.4% in 2020 and is forecast to fall another 1.5% this year, according to research by IBISWorld. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small/Reuters)

Honey bees and ground bumblebees fly with thick purple pollen pouches to the flower of a corn poppy, also called poppy or corn rose, to obtain nectar in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Bumblebees, which like bees belong to the stinging bee family, form so-called summer colonies that exist for only a few months. (Photo by Wolfgang Kumm/dpa via AP Photo)

Giant panda Meng Meng plays on a tree at a Siberian tiger-breeding base in Changchun, China on December 10, 2015. (Photo by Xu Chang/Xinhua Press/Corbis)

Models use their phone lights during a power outage to put on make-up before the start of the third Ouaga Fashion Week in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Friday May 13, 2022. Ouaga Fashion Week returned to the Burkinabe capital after a two year COVID-19 related break. (Photo by Sophie Garcia/AP Photo)

A priest sprinkles holy water at a cat at a drive-through pet blessing, ahead of World Animal Day, at a mall in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on October 2, 2022. (Photo by Lisa Marie David/Reuters)