An Egyptian worker prepares to lift parts of a statue at the site of a new archeological discovery at Souq Al-Khamis district in Al-Matareya area, Cairo, Egypt on March 9 2017. According to the Ministry of Antiquities, two 19th dynasty royal statues were found in parts in the vicinity of King Ramses II temple in ancient Heliopolis (Oun) Sun Temples by a German-Egyptian archeological mission. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A solders in ceremonial attire sweats as he waits outside Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall, in which Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn scheduled to grant a public audience in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, May 6, 2019. King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned amid the splendour of the country's Grand Palace, taking the central role in an elaborate centuries-old royal ceremony that was last held almost seven decades ago. (Photo by Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP Photo)

Undated UK Ministry of Defence handout photo of an RAF Tornado GR4 which has been painted in Gulf War “desert pink” paint scheme to honour the aircraft type's almost continuous operational service since the Royal Air Force helped liberate Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's forces, taken by SAC Rose Buchanan, which has been shortlisted for the general public to pick their favourite RAF Image of the Year. (Photo by SAC Rose Buchanan/MoD Crown Copyright/PA Wire)

In this photo provided by Britain's Ministry of Defense, on Monday, March 4, 2024, F-35B Lightning jets are parked at a flight deck of HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, under the northern lights (Aurora Borealis) near the coast of Norway, Sunday, March 3, 2024. (Photo by UK Ministry of Defence via AP Photo)

Members of Panchayati Akhara Bada Udasin take part in a religious procession as they head towards the Kumbh Mela festival ahead of the royal bath near the Sangam, the confluence of three of the holiest rivers in Hindu mythology – Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati – in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, 12 January 2025. Every 12 years, Hindu pilgrims gather for ritual baths at the river's banks during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival. (Photo by Rajat Gupta/EPA)

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.

Talini (R), a 9-month old 160-pound polar bear cub, swims with her mother Barle at the Detroit Zoo's Artic Ring of Life exhibit August 25, 2005 in Royal Oak, Michigan. Talini's birth was the first polar bear birth at the Detroit Zoo in fifteen years. Her mother Barle was wild born and was rescued by the Detroit Zoo from a circus in Puerto Rico in 2002. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

International photographic competition, which runs in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, awards special prize for the best close-up images. Here: Winner – Mayflies by Petar Sabol, Goričan, Croatia. (Photo by Sabol Petar/International Garden Photographer of the Year)