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.

An alpaca chewing a leaf is pictured on November 18, 2014 in the zoo of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by Frank Rumpenhorst/AFP Photo/DPA)

Young girls perform in front of the monument to Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin during the City Day celebrations in Yekaterinburg, Russia on August 19, 2017. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Cambodian children sleep on a pavement at a park in Phnom Penh on July 8, 2016. (Photo by Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP Photo)

An Indian girl wearing traditional attire takes selfie as others perform the Garba, a dance of Gujarat state, to celebrate the Hindu festival Navratri in Ahmedabad, India, Thursday, October 7, 2021. Navratri, or nine nights festival, began Thursday. (Photo by Ajit Solanki/AP Photo)

In this photo taken Thursday, January 16, 2020, a Samburu boy uses a wooden stick to try to swat a swarm of desert locusts filling the air, as he herds his camel near the village of Sissia, in Samburu county, Kenya. The most serious outbreak of desert locusts in 25 years is spreading across East Africa and posing an unprecedented threat to food security in some of the world's most vulnerable countries, authorities say, with unusual climate conditions partly to blame. (Photo by Patrick Ngugi/AP Photo)

A man sits waiting for a train on the London Underground in 1890, when the platform floors were still made from wooden floorboards. (Photo by Hi-Story/Alamy Stock Photo)

A salsa dancer performs in the “Salsodromo” parade, which marks the start of the Fair of Cali, Colombia, December 25, 2015. Picture taken December 25, 2015. (Photo by Jaime Saldarriaga/Reuters)