The first computer programmer, rather surprisingly, was a Victorian woman by the name of Ada Lovelace. Taught science and maths in an era when women were rarely given an education, Ada was the first person to glimpse the future that we now take for granted, to understand just what computers could be capable of, even before the first was built. Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, was the daughter of the troubled poet George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron and Anne Isabella Milbanke, 11th Baroness Wentworth, or Annabella as she called herself. After her parents' troubled marriage disintegrated, Ada was brought up mostly by her grandmother, Judith, but unlike most young ladies of the era, was tutors by some of the best minds of the era. At 18, Ada met the inventor, mathematician and mechanical engineer, Charles Babbage, and became fascinated by a mechanical computing machine that he was working on. Called the Analytical Engine, it was designed to carry out complex computations and could be controlled using punched cards, similar to those used on a Jacquard loom. Ada studied Charles' designs in depth and came to understand the machine well enough to write the first ever computer program. That she achieved this in 1843, without a working computer, is testament to her intelligence, skill and understanding, yet there are still those who would wish to deny her contribution to computing history. This chapter is an excerpt from A Passion for Science: Stories of Discovery and Invention, an anthology of inspiring stories about how we achieved some of the most important breakthroughs in science and technology, from the identification of the Horsehead Nebula to the creation of the computer program, from the development of in vitro fertilisation to the detection of pulsars.

Unemployed and desperate for money, I turned to the Deep Web looking for work. Instead, I found this. ---- TNT Horror Contest Grand Prize Winner, to be adapted for television! Wattpad Featured Story #20 in horror 3/2/17

* 2017 WATTY WINNER!* Blurb: Humans are at the top of the food chain and always have been. But what if they weren't? What if another took our place and decided to raise and exploit us as we have every other animal on earth? Welcome to a world after humanity... No one is exactly certain where the sibla came from. Some say they evolved from humans long ago, slowly taking power as their numbers increased. Taller, stronger, and longer-lived, than homo sapiens it isn't too hard to imagine. Now humans must face a reality in which they are no more than animals, domesticated beasts bred for their master's various needs and hungers. Rachel Turner is only eight years old. Born in Demin, one of the last remaining free human settlements on earth, she has never been forced to face the reality of life under a sibla Master, living a carefree existence in her hidden village. Magnus Kendrick is a sibla farmer with a sizable estate on which he raises all manner of livestock, from chickens, to sheep, to...humans. He is also the man destined to purchase Rachel's life. *Warning: This book contains a certain degree of gore and disturbing themes Beautiful cover by @my_fairytale 2016 Fright Fest Gold Winner Cryptic's Choice 2017 WATTY Winner ( Story Smiths category) *All Rights Reserved

When fifteen-year-old Chloe Maxwell moves with her mother to a small suburban town, it doesn't take long before rumors of a local legend summon an urge to investigate. Unbeknownst to everyone, including those closest to her, Chloe has a secret: she can see ghosts. For decades, stories of a former classmate haunting the halls of Apple Valley High School have circulated, scaring the squeamish and enticing the brave. The dead girl's soul is said to linger, making her presence known to those nearby. Unusual cold spots, flickering lights and the unexplained scent of roses have all been blamed on the spirit of Rose Marie Foster, whose activity has increased since Chloe's arrival. But it's just an urban legend, right? When Chloe comes face to face with the desperate specter, she sets out on a quest to release the entity, hoping she'll cross over to the other side. However, freeing the trapped spirit isn't as easy as it sounds, leaving Chloe to wonder if her clairvoyance is enough to help Rose move on, or will she put herself in danger of a fate worse than death?

Here is my Southern Gothic short story collection book titled “Marmalade and Murder: Tales of the South”. Within these five stories, you will be taken to sleepy southern states and immersed into tales as sinful and decadent as your Aunt Montgomery’s’ Mississippi Mud Pie.

Time for an EPIC party! Please join me for the ENTIRE month of February to celebrate the awesome authors and readers of Wattpad! We will have prizes, games, and feature some of your very favorite Wattpad authors! Check out the next chapters for details!

The Wattpad Block Party - Summer Edition - That's right! The first Wattpad Block Party was such a huge hit that round two is coming your way July 2015 and it's shaping up to be even bigger then the first one! The invites have started to roll out and everyone from your all time favorite Wattpad Super Stars, to New York Times and USA TODAY Bestselling Authors, to talented up and coming writers are joining us! Check out the first chapter for a more detailed description and keep an eye out on the Line Up chapter to see who is going to be featured for the Wattpad Block Party - Summer Edition! Curious how this event will run? Here's the link to the last Wattpad Block Party: http://www.wattpad.com/myworks/29576361-the-wattpad-block-party Kelly Anne Blount xoxo P.S. Make sure you add this story to your library, vote and leave comments for your favorite authors and posts, and follow me for updates!

They say that a monster stalks the island, preying on strangers and curious children. A wedding weekend brings up memories of the past and reveals the chilling truth behind a childhood legend. This is a one-shot short story.

When you are infected with the virus, there are four stages. 1) Your fever will shoot up and everything will become intensified on a maximum level. You'll lose grip on what's reality and what's illusion. 2) You'll start to slowly fall down the rabbit hole, forgetting the past and everything and everyone that you knew. 3) You face your imminent death. 4) You wake up with a pressing hunger for the living. It's been seven months since the pandemic hit with this virus and the world has been ravaged and left to ruins. Society has crumbled to nothing and more than three fourths of the population have been infected with the mysterious virus that took the world by storm. The virus has turned anyone infected into crazed flesh-eating freaks, with decrepit skin and red puffy eyes. The only way to kill them is by obliterating the brain. Elise Alice Gordon, Lease for short, led a simple life until the virus hit. Seven months later she is just barely scraping by. She's done what she's had to do to survive, and in that process she has created demons that haunt her every time she closes her eyes. See, it hasn't been easy trying to live in a dead world. She's lost friends, family, and everything she's ever known. The only thing she hasn't lost is her humanity and her hope. But she's afraid she's starting to. Because in this new world, there's only her, the dead, and the restless. © 2012 by Ashtyn Mane. All rights reserved.