People look at a RoboThespian humanoid robot at the Tami Intelligence Technology stall at the WRC 2016 World Robot Conference in Beijing, China, October 21, 2016. The conference showcased China's burgeoning robot industry as the nation seeks to increase the use of robots in its manufacturing and service industries. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

A civil defence volunteer wearing a Covid-19 coronavirus-themed helmet holds a placard as he takes part in an awareness campaign at a market in New Delhi on November 25, 2020. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)

Dawlish Carnival 50th anniversary pram race featuring the famous Dawlish Black Swan in England on August 15, 2023. (Photo by nidpor/StockimoNews/Alamy Live News)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off in Florida on Saturday, October 21, 2023. The rocket is carrying 23 Starlink satellites. (Photo by Malcolm Denemark/AP Photo)

Hindu married women offer prayers and tie a thread around a banyan tree during the festival of Vat Purnima amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India, June 24, 2021. (Photo by Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)

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.

A chicken seller carries his chickens on his head in the market in Peshawar, Pakistan, August 20, 2015. (Photo by Khuram Parvez/Reuters)

A U.S. Army crew chief flying on board a CH-47F Chinook helicopter observes the successful test of flares during a training flight in Afghanistan, March 14, 2018. (Photo by Tech. Sgt. Gregory Brook/Reuters/U.S. Air Force)