Best known as one of the most famous female authors of the 20th century, Virginia Woolf has a secret. A science-fiction secret. Under the pen name E.V. Odle — to protect her street cred as a serious writer — Woolf concocted some of the most influential science fiction of the modern day. Her story The Clockwork Man is the first known use of a cyborg and may also be considered the birth of steampunk. The Puppeteer God centered around a lonely creature who fed from the dreams of others, leading to him enslaving them in a dream state we know as the world. The Wachowski siblings have admitted this story influenced The Matrix. Her story The Houyhnhmn about a humanoid race enslaved by horses was the main influence on the novel The Planet of the Apes, while An Unwanted Guest served as the basis for the campy Attack of the 50 Foot Woman film. Perhaps most dear, though, was Orlando — published under Woolf's real name — a story about an immortal man who regenerates into different people. The premise should be familiar to any fan of Doctor Who. Basically, Virginia Woolf invented modern science fiction in her off-time for fun, and we should thank her every day for it.