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)

Two Bunny Girls from the Playboy Club and two Penthouse Pets from the Penthouse Club prepare to take part in the annual Good Friday waiters and waitresses race in Battersea Festival Gardens, London, 28th March 1972. (Photo by Ian Showell/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Close up of a couple, with the woman holding the man's knee, underneath a table. (Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

Elephants munch on Christmas trees in their enclosure at Berlin's Zoologischer Garten Zoo on January 4, 2013 in Berlin, Germany. Traditionally, the animals get in the first week of the year leftover Christmas trees. (Photo by Andreas Rentz)

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.

Australian World War Two veterans place crosses and flags at graves before attending the French-British ceremony at the British War cemetery in Bayeux, June 6, 2014. REUTERS/Leon Neal/Pool

German fan Didi Senft known as El Diablo cheers as the pack rides past during the 234.5 km seventh stage of the 101st edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 11, 2014 between Epernay and Nancy, northeastern France. (Photo by Lionel Bonaventure/AFP Photo)