Terry A. Davis: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{Short description|American programmer and creator of TempleOS}}

{{redirect|Terry Davis|otherOther people named Terry Davis|Terry Davis (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Terry A. Davis

| image = Terry A. Davis 2000 (cropped).jpg

| caption = Davis with a computer monitor, {{circa|mid-1980s}}<!-- exact year unknown, although the Commodore 128 pictured was released in 1984 --->2000

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1969|12|15}}

| birth_name = Terrence Andrew Davis

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| occupation = {{hlist|Computer programmer|[[video blogger]]}}

| other_names =

| education = [[Bachelor'sArizona degree]]State in [[computer engineeringUniversity]] (1992) and [[master'sBachelor degree]] in [[electricalof engineeringScience|BS]] (1994) from, [[ArizonaMaster Stateof UniversityScience|MS]])

| employer = [[Ticketmaster]] (1990–1996)

| known_for = [[TempleOS]]

| website = {{URL|templeos.org}}

}}

'''Terrence Andrew Davis''' (December 15, 1969 – August 11, 2018), better known as '''Terry A. Davis''', was an American electrical engineer and computer programmer best known for creating and designing [[TempleOS]], an [[operating system]] in the [[Public-domain software|public domain]], by himself. Its development was an extremely complex, time-consuming, and unusual undertaking for one person.<ref name="dalles"/><ref name="newsstack" /><ref name="nosmallfeat"/>

As a teenager, Davis learned [[assembly language]] on a [[Commodore 64]]. He later earned both a [[bachelor's degree]] in [[computer engineering]] and a [[master's degree]] in [[electrical engineering]] from [[Arizona State University]]. andHe worked for several years at [[Ticketmaster]] as a programmer for [[VAX]] machines. In 1996, he began experiencing regular [[mania|manic episodes]], one of which led him to hospitalization. Initially diagnosed with [[bipolar disorder]], he was later declared to have [[schizophrenia]]. He subsequently collected disability payments and resided in [[Las Vegas]] with his parents until 2017.

Davis grew up as a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] and was an [[Atheism|atheist]] for some of his adult life. After experiencing a self-described "revelation", he proclaimed that he had been in direct communication with [[God]] and that God had commanded him to build a [[Third Temple|successor]] to the [[Second Temple]]. He then committed a decade to creating an operating system modeled after the [[DOS]]-based interfaces of his youth. In 2013, Davis announced that he had completed the project, now called "TempleOS". The operating system was generally regarded as a hobby system, not suitable for general use,<ref name="derision"/> but Davis received sympathy and support for bringing the project to fruition.<ref name="newsstack" />

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==Early life and career==

[[File:Terry Davis 1990.jpg|thumb|left|Davis with his parents, {{circa|1990}}]]

Terrence Andrew Davis was born in [[West Allis, Wisconsin]], the seventh of eight children. He later movingmoved to [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Michigan]], [[California]] and [[Arizona]]. He was the seventh of eight children, and hisHis father was an [[industrial engineering|industrial engineer]]. As a child, Davis used an [[Apple II]] at his elementary school,. and asAs a teenager, he learned [[assembly language]] on a [[Commodore 64]].<ref name="VICE"/> He

In 1994, he earned a master's degree in [[electrical engineering]] from [[Arizona State University]]. inFor 1994several andyears he worked for several years at [[Ticketmaster]]<ref name="VICE">{{Cite web| title = God's Lonely Programmer| last = Hicks| first = Jesse| work = [[Vice (magazine)|VICE Motherboard]]| date = November 25, 2014| accessdate = 2020-09-03| url = https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wnj43x/gods-lonely-programmer| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150503193635/http://motherboard.vice.com/read/gods-lonely-programmer| archive-date = 2015-05-03| url-status = live}}</ref> as a programmer for [[VAX]] machines.<ref name="tech_Temp">{{Cite web| title = TempleOS: an educational tool for programming experiments| first = James| last = Sanders| work = [[TechRepublic]]| date = January 21, 2014| accessdate = 2015-04-21| url = http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/software-engineer/templeos-an-educational-tool-for-programming-experiments/| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150416045403/http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/software-engineer/templeos-an-educational-tool-for-programming-experiments/| archive-date = 2015-04-16| url-status = live}}</ref> On the subject of his certifications, he wrote in 2011: "Everybody knows electrical is higher in the engineering pecking order than CS because it requires real math ;-) I'm a rocket scientist, though, not a very good one".<ref name="LT2011">{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Terry A. |title=Trivial Solutions: The LoseThos 64-bit PC Operating System |url=http://www.losethos.com/ |website=LoseThos |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008223814/http://www.losethos.com/|archivedate=October 8, 2011 |year=2011}}</ref>

==Onset of illness and spiritual awakening==

{{see also|Religion and schizophrenia}}

[[File:Terry Davis 2000 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|right|Davis, {{circa|2000}}]]

Davis grew up [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], but was an atheist for some of his adult life before experiencing what he called a "revelation from God".<ref name="VICE" /> Starting in 1996, Davis was admitted to a psychiatric ward approximately every six months due to reoccurring [[mania|manic episodes]].<ref name="VICE" /> In March, he had begun experiencing regular manic episodes, and developed delusions centering around [[extraterrestrial life|space aliens]] and government [[special agent|agents]].<ref name="VICE"/><ref name="slat_Temp">{{Cite web| title = Temple OS, un système d'exploitation pour parler à Dieu codé par un fou génial| first = Quentin| last = Bruet-Ferréol| work = [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]| date = May 13, 2014| accessdate = 2015-04-21| url = http://www.slate.fr/story/86549/temple-os-systeme-exploitation-parler-dieu| language = fr| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141221123755/http://www.slate.fr/story/86549/temple-os-systeme-exploitation-parler-dieu| archive-date = 2014-12-21| url-status = live}}</ref> According to Davis, he attributed a profound quality to the [[Rage Against the Machine]] lyric "[[Killing in the Name|some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses]]" and recalled "I started seeing people following me around in suits and stuff. It just seemed something was strange."<ref name="VICE" /> He started donating large sums of money to charity organizations, something he had never done before. Later, he surmised, "that act [probably] caused God to reveal Himself to me and saved me."<ref name="VICE"/>

Soon afterward, out of fear of the suited figures he believed to be following him, Davis left town and drove hundreds of miles south with no destination. After becoming convinced that his car radio was communicating with him, he dismantled his vehicle, apparently in a search for tracking devices he believed were hidden on it, and threw his keys into the desert. He walked aimlessly along the side of the highway, where he was then picked up by a police officer. Davis escaped from the patrol vehicle, broke his collarbone, and was then taken to a hospital.<ref name="VICE"/>

Soon afterward, out of fear of the suited figures he believed to be following him, Davis left town and drove hundreds of miles south with no destination. After becoming convinced that his car radio was communicating with him, he dismantled his vehicle (apparently in a search for tracking devices he believed were hidden on it) and threw his keys into the desert. He walked aimlessly along the side of the highway, where he was then picked up by a police officer. Davis escaped from the patrol vehicle, broke his collarbone, and was then taken to a hospital. Distressed about a conversation over artifacts found on his X-ray scans, interpreted by him as "alien artifacts", he ran from the hospital. andHe attempted to carjack a nearby truck before being arrested. In jail, he stripped himself, broke his glasses and jammed the frames into a nearby electrical outlet, trying to open his cell door by switching the breaker. This failed, as he had been wearing non-conductive frames. He was then admitted to a mental hospital for two weeks.<ref name="VICE"/>

Regarding these developments, Davis said in a 2014 interview that he had been "genuinely pretty crazy in a way. Now I'm not. I'm crazy in a different way maybe."<ref name="VICE" /> Davis acknowledged that the sequence of events leading to his spiritual awakening might give the impression of "mental illness, as opposed to some glorious revelation from God. [...] It would sound polite if you said I scared myself thinking about [[quantum computing|quantum computers]]. And then I guess you just throw in your ordinary mental illness."<ref name="VICE" /> Reflecting on the initial episode, he said, "I'm not especially proud of the logic and thinking. It looks very young and childish and pathetic. [...] In the Bible it says if you seek God, He will be found{{sic}} of you. I was really seeking, and I was looking everywhere to see what he might be saying to me."<ref name="VICE" />

Davis was initially diagnosed with [[bipolar disorder]] and later declared to have [[schizophrenia]]. Afterward, he felt "guilty for being such a technology-advocate atheist" and sought to emulate [[Jesus]] by giving away all his possessions and living a nomadic lifestyle.<ref name="VICE"/> In July 1996, he returned to Arizona and started formulating plans for a new business. He designed a three-axis [[milling machine]], as he recalled having [[3D printing]] in mind as an obvious pursuit. An incident involving a Dremel tool nearly set his apartment on fire, which caused him to abandon the idea.<ref name="VICE" /> He subsequently lived with his parents in Las Vegas and collected [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] disability payments.<ref name="newsstack" /><ref name="VICE" />{{refn|group=nb|Davis later wrote that he found work at "a company named Xytec Corp" between 1997 and 1999, making "[[Field-programmable gate array|FPGA]]-based image processing equipment". He said the next two years were spent at H.A.R.E., where he wrote an application called SimStructure, and the two years after that were spent at Graphic Technologies, where he was "head software/electrical engineer".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Terry A. |title=About Terry A. Davis |url=http://www.templeos.org/Wb/Home/Web/TAD/TAD.html |website=TempleOS |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427002754/http://www.templeos.org/Wb/Home/Web/TAD/TAD.html |archivedate=April 27, 2016 |year=2016}}</ref> }}

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==TempleOS==

{{main|TempleOS}}

[[File:VirtualBox TempleOS x64 27 02 2021 20 43 48.png|thumb|ScreenshotA screenshot of the TempleOS interface]]

[[File:Terry A. Davis (cropped).jpg |thumb|upright|right|Davis with a computer monitor, {{circa|mid-1980s}}<!-- exact year unknown, although the Commodore 128 pictured was released in 1984 --->]]

TempleOS, (known as "J Operating System" from 2004 to 2005, "LoseThos" from 2006 to early 2012, and "SparrowOS" in late 2012), is an operating system similar to the [[Commodore 64]], [[DESQview]] and other early [[DOS]]-based interfaces.<ref name="VICE"/> It was written in a [[programming language]] developed by Davis called Holy C, which was a middle ground between [[C (programming language)|C]] and [[C++]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-04-16 |title=TempleOS: an educational tool for programming experiments – TechRepublic |url=http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/software-engineer/templeos-an-educational-tool-for-programming-experiments/ |access-date=2023-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416045403/http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/software-engineer/templeos-an-educational-tool-for-programming-experiments/ |archive-date=2015-04-16 }}</ref> It was conceived by Davis in the early 2000s<ref name="VICE"/> and developed alone over the course of a decade. This included the design of its original [[programming language]], [[source-code editor|editor]], [[compiler]] and [[Kernel (operating system)|kernel]].<ref name="newsstack" /> It was ultimately composedhad of underover 100,000 lines of code.<ref name="newsstack" />

In 2005, Davis stated that his ambition for the J Operating System was "to recreate the dynamic environment that used to exist when the Commodore 64 was around and everyone was creating odd-ball software".<ref>{{cite web |author1=nick_h |title=The J Operating System |url=https://www.osnews.com/story/13117/the-j-operating-system/ |website=[[OSNews]] |accessdate=January 6, 2019 |date=December 29, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321125945/https://www.osnews.com/story/13117/the-j-operating-system/ |archive-date=March 21, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> He envisioned the system as a Commodore 64 with a "thousand times" more powerful processing speed.<ref name="LT2011"/> ThreeIn years later2008, he wrote that the primary purpose of LoseThos was "for making video games. It has no networking or Internet support. As far as I'm concerned, that would be reinventing the wheel".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Terry A. |title=The LoseThos IBM PC Operating System |url=http://www.losethos.com |website=LoseThos |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216012330/http://www.losethos.com/ |archivedate=December 16, 2008 |year=2008 |access-date=January 6, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Davis later proclaimed that he was in direct communication with God, and that God told him to build a [[Third Temple|a successor]] to the [[Second Temple]] as an operating system.<ref name="VICE" /> As such, references to Biblical tropes are ubiquitous in the OS. One bundled program, "After Egypt", is a game in which the player travels to a [[burning bush]] to use a "high-speed stopwatch". The stopwatch is meant to act as an [[oracle]] that generates pseudo-random text, something Davis believed to be coded messages from God. He likened the process to a [[Ouija]] board and [[speaking in tongues]].<ref name="tech_Temp"/> An example of generated text follows:

{{quote|among consigned penally result perverseness checked stated held sensation reasonings skies adversity Dakota lip Suffer approached enact displacing feast Canst pearl doing alms comprehendeth nought<ref name="tech_Temp"/>}}

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According to Davis, many of the system's features, such as its 640×480 resolution and 16-color display, were also explicit instructions from God. The [[charter]] on his website stated that TempleOS was "God's official temple. Just like [[Solomon's Temple]], this is a community focal point where offerings are made and God's oracle is consulted".<ref name="VICE" /> He used the oracle to ask God about war ("servicemen competing"), death ("awful"), dinosaurs ("Brontosaurs' feet hurt when stepped"), favorite video game (''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]''), favorite car ([[BMW]]), favorite national anthem ([[Dievs, svētī Latviju!|Latvia's]]), favorite band ([[the Beatles]]), and the [[Ten Commandments|11th commandment]] ("Thou shall not litter").<ref name="VICE" />

In 2012, Davis stated that LoseThos was downloaded 10,000 times since 2009, and that there was "no evidence anyone has installed it. I am in a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] prison."<ref name="CIA">{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Terry A. |title=Are you under 18? Go away. ... |url=http://losethos.com |website=LoseThos |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630033223/http://losethos.com/ |archivedate=June 30, 2012 |year=2012}}</ref> Later in the year2012, he renamed LoseThos to "SparrowOS", and. inIn early 2013, rebranded again as "TempleOS".<ref>See:

* {{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Terry A. |title=LoseThos is now SparrowOS |url=http://losethos.com/ |website=LoseThos |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022160033/http://losethos.com/ |archivedate=October 22, 2012 |year=2012 |ref=none}}

* {{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Terry A. |title=SparrowOS is now TempleOS |url=http://www.sparrowos.com/ |website=SparrowOS |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615172436/http://www.sparrowos.com/ |archivedate=June 15, 2013 |year=2013 |ref=none}}</ref> A few weeks later, his website announced: "God's temple is finished. Now, God kills CIA until it spreads".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Terry A. |title=The Temple Operating System |url=http://www.templeos.org |website=TempleOS |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703141455/http://www.templeos.org/ |archivedate=July 3, 2013 |year=2013 |access-date=January 6, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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{{quote box|

quote=What people are going to read is, "It's about a pathetic schizophrenic who made a crappy operating system." My perspective is, "God said I made His temple."

|source=—Terry A. Davis in regard to an article about his life, from an email to a ''Vice'' journalist.<ref name="VICE" />

|width=25em

}}

Throughout his life, Davis believed that he was under constant persecution from federal agents, particularly those from the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA).<ref name="CIA"/> He was controversial for his regular use of offensive slurs,<ref name="newsstack" /> including racist and homophobic epithets,<ref name="VICE" /> and sometimes rebuked his critics as "CIA [[niggers]]".<ref name="VICE" /> In one widely circulated YouTube video, he claimed that "the CIA niggers glow in the dark; you can see them if you're driving. You just run them over." The term "[[wikt:glowie|glowie]]" which is based on the aforementioned phrase, is commonly used by online groups to denote an undercover federal agent or informant.<ref name="Khazan 2021">{{cite web | last=Khazan | first=Olga | title=The Far Right's Fear of 'Glowies' | website=[[The Atlantic]] | date=25 January 2021 | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/01/what-glowies-mean-online-spies/617717/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101034232/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/01/what-glowies-mean-online-spies/617717/ | archive-date=1 January 2023 | url-status=live | access-date=3 June 2023}}</ref>▼

Such outbursts, along with the operating system's "amateurish" presentation, ultimately caused TempleOS to become a frequent object of derision.<ref name="derision">{{cite web |last1=Holwerda |first1=Thom |title=A constructive look at TempleOS |url=https://www.osnews.com/story/28617/a-constructive-look-at-templeos/ |website=[[OSNews]] |accessdate=January 24, 2019 |date=June 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125130826/https://www.osnews.com/story/28617/a-constructive-look-at-templeos/ |archive-date=January 25, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Davis explained that his use of the word "nigger" was a reaction to being subject to [[psychological warfare]] tactics from media agencies such as the [[BBC]]. He addressed concerns about his language on his website: {{quote|Jesus used a racist slur, calling Canaanites "dogs" in [[Exorcism of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter|Matthew 15:21–28]] [...] I asked God about racism? He said, "sports". [...] White people indirectly call each other "nigger" all the time. After the BBC kept indirectly calling me a nigger I said, "Fine! I ain't a pussy! I'll use the real word on my enemies". [...] when I fight Satan, I use the sharpest knives I can find. I ain't shedding no tears cause you don't like "nigger". [...] Just remember that [[Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus|men are from Mars, women are from Venus<!-- Corrected from "Vensus" per [[MOS:TYPOFIX]] -->]], and our dear God is from planet Earth.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Terry A. |title=Racism and the Use of 'Nigger' |url=http://www.templeos.org/Wb/Home/Web/TAD/Racism.html |website=TempleOS |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525010927/http://www.templeos.org/Wb/Home/Web/TAD/Racism.html#l1 |archivedate=May 25, 2016 |date=n.d.}}</ref>|title=|source=}}▼

Once TempleOS was completed, most of Davis' time was spent online, "coding, web surfing, or using the output from the [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]] randomness beacon to talk to God",<ref name="VICE" /> and he drew a small fanbase following through his various online activities.<ref name="dalles" /> He posted hours of video blogs and would refer to himself as "the smartest programmer that's ever lived" while showing his creations.<ref name="newsstack" /> His YouTube channels were repeatedly banned due to his vulgarities.<ref name="dalles" /> In 2017, the OS was shown as a part of an [[outsider art]] exhibition in [[Bourogne]], France.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://diagonaledelart.blogs.liberation.fr/2017/01/13/art-brut-20/|title=la Diagonale de l'art – ART BRUT 2.0|last=Godin|first=Philippe |date=January 13, 2017|website=[[Libération]]|language=fr|access-date=September 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907183239/http://diagonaledelart.blogs.liberation.fr/2017/01/13/art-brut-20/|archive-date=September 7, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Davis said he was happy to receive the attention but was disappointed that few of his fans had used the OS to speak to God.<ref name="VICE" />

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In September 2018, OSNews editor Thom Holwerda wrote: "Davis was clearly a gifted programmer – writing an entire operating system is no small feat – and it was sad to see him affected by his mental illness".<ref name="nosmallfeat">{{cite web |last1=Holwerda |first1=Thom |title=Creator of TempleOS, Terry Davis, has passed away |url=https://www.osnews.com/story/30710/creator-of-templeos-terry-davis-has-passed-away/ |website=[[OSNews]] |accessdate=January 6, 2019 |date=September 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117025950/https://www.osnews.com/story/30710/creator-of-templeos-terry-davis-has-passed-away/ |archive-date=January 17, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> One fan described him as a "programming legend", while another, a computer engineer, compared the development of TempleOS to a one-man-built skyscraper.<ref name="dalles" /><ref name="newsstack" /> The engineer had previously spoken to Davis at length and believed that Davis, had it not been for his illness, could have been a "[[Steve Jobs]]" or a "[[Steve Wozniak]]".<ref name="newsstack" /> He added that it "actually boggles my mind that one man wrote all that" and surmised that it may be difficult for a layperson to understand how extraordinary it was to write an entire operating system alone.<ref name="dalles" />

==="Glowies"===

{{see also|List of slang terms for federal agents}}

▲Throughout his life, Davis believed that he was under constant persecution from federal agents, particularly those from the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA).<ref name="CIA"/> He was controversial for his regular use of offensive slurs,<ref name="newsstack" /> including racist and homophobic epithets,<ref name="VICE" /> and sometimes rebuked his critics as "CIA [[niggers]]".<ref name="VICE" /> In one widely circulated YouTube video, he claimed that "the CIA niggers glow in the dark; you can see them if you're driving. You just run them over." The term "[[wikt:glowie|glowie]]", which is based on the aforementioned phrase, is commonly used by online groups to denote an undercover federal agent or informant.<ref name="Khazan 2021">{{cite web | last=Khazan | first=Olga | title=The Far Right's Fear of 'Glowies' | website=[[The Atlantic]] | date=25 January 2021 | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/01/what-glowies-mean-online-spies/617717/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101034232/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/01/what-glowies-mean-online-spies/617717/ | archive-date=1 January 2023 | url-status=live | access-date=3 June 2023}}</ref>

▲Such outbursts, along with the operating system's "amateurish" presentation, ultimately caused TempleOS to become a frequent object of derision.<ref name="derision">{{cite web |last1=Holwerda |first1=Thom |title=A constructive look at TempleOS |url=https://www.osnews.com/story/28617/a-constructive-look-at-templeos/ |website=[[OSNews]] |accessdate=January 24, 2019 |date=June 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125130826/https://www.osnews.com/story/28617/a-constructive-look-at-templeos/ |archive-date=January 25, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Davis explained that his use of the word "nigger" was a reaction to being subject to [[psychological warfare]] tactics from media agencies such as the [[BBC]]. He addressed concerns about his language on his website: {{quote|Jesus used a racist slur, calling Canaanites "dogs" in [[Exorcism of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter|Matthew 15:21–28]] [...] I asked God about racism? He said, "sports". [...] White people indirectly call each other "nigger" all the time. After the BBC kept indirectly calling me a nigger I said, "Fine! I ain't a pussy! I'll use the real word on my enemies". [...] when I fight Satan, I use the sharpest knives I can find. I ain't shedding no tears cause you don't like "nigger". [...] Just remember that [[Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus|men are from Mars, women are from Venus<!-- Corrected from "Vensus" per [[MOS:TYPOFIX''sic'']] -->]], and our dear God is from planet Earth.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Terry A. |title=Racism and the Use of 'Nigger' |url=http://www.templeos.org/Wb/Home/Web/TAD/Racism.html |website=TempleOS |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525010927/http://www.templeos.org/Wb/Home/Web/TAD/Racism.html#l1 |archivedate=May 25, 2016 |date=n.d.}}</ref>|title=|source=}}

==Death==

[[File:Terry A. Davis in front of Richland WA library.jpg|thumb|A homeless Davis in June 2018, two months before his death]]

During his final two months, Davis struggled with periods of homelessness and incarceration. He stopped taking medication because he believed that it limited his creativity. Some fans helped him by bringing him supplies, but he refused their housing offers. After living with his sister in Arizona, Davis traveled to California, and in April 2018, he stopped in [[Portland, Oregon]]. Local police were informed that Davis may be a threat, since he had stated a willingness to kill if asked by God. In June, Portland police informed officials in the city of [[The Dalles, Oregon|The Dalles]], approximately {{convert|80|mi|km}} away, that they had received word that Davis might be headed there. No further complaints were received about Davis.<ref name="newsstack">{{cite web |url=https://thenewstack.io/the-troubled-legacy-of-terry-davis-gods-lonely-programmer/ |title=The Troubled Legacy of Terry Davis, 'God's Lonely ProgrammerProgrammers' |website=The New Stack |date=September 23, 2018 |last=Cassel |first=David |access-date=November 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928201148/https://thenewstack.io/the-troubled-legacy-of-terry-davis-gods-lonely-programmer/ |archive-date=September 28, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In his final video, recorded on a bench at theThe Dalles Wasco County Library, and uploaded hours before his death, he explained that he had removed most of his videos because he did not wish to "litter" the Internet, and that he had learned how to "purify" himself. At the very end, he states: "It's good to be king. Wait, maybe. I think maybe I'm just like a little bizarre little person who walks back and forth. Whatever, you know, but..."<ref name="newsstack"/>

On the evening of August 11, 2018, while walking alongside railroad tracks in The Dalles, Davis was struck and killed by a [[Union Pacific]] train. Investigators could not determine whether his death was suicide or accidental, although the train engineer believed his death to be a suicide. The police report stated that Davis was walking with his back toward the train and that he turned around before the moment of impact.<ref name="dalles">{{cite news |url=https://www.columbiagorgenews.com/thedalleschronicle/news/man-killed-by-train-had-tech-following/article_1f03fc0d-c223-5f20-a915-460fce4299f1.html |work=The Dalles Chronicle |last=Cecil |first=Neita |date=September 7, 2018 |title=Man killed by train had tech following |access-date=November 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108002150/https://www.columbiagorgenews.com/thedalleschronicle/news/man-killed-by-train-had-tech-following/article_1f03fc0d-c223-5f20-a915-460fce4299f1.html|archive-date=November 8, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> When ''[[The Dalles Chronicle]]'' ran a story about an unnamed homeless man who was struck by a train, the newspaper was inundated with phone calls inquiring whether it was Davis, which the paper later confirmed in a follow-up piece.<ref name="newsstack" />

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===Tributes===

As reports of his death surfaced online, he was memorialized by fans in a number of tributes posted to social media.<ref name="newsstack"/> Through the TempleOS website, his family asked people to donate to "organizations working to ease the pain and suffering caused by mental illness".<ref name="dalles" /> In December 2018, Linux.org, (an unofficial community for [[Linux]] users), was vandalized by hackers to include a reference to his death.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Franceschi-Bicchierai |first1=Lorenzo |title=Someone Defaced Linux.org Website With 'Goatse' And Anti-Diversity Tirade |url=https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/59vkq8/linuxorg-website-defacement-goatse |website=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |accessdate=January 6, 2019 |date=December 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106204355/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/59vkq8/linuxorg-website-defacement-goatse |archive-date=January 6, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> In November 2019, Davis was the subject of a 30-minute documentary on [[BBC Radio 4]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Matthew |title=BBC feature on Terry Davis of TempleOS |url=https://www.osnews.com/story/130903/bbc-feature-on-terry-davis-of-templeos/ |website=OS News |date=November 13, 2019 |access-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-date=January 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110004651/https://www.osnews.com/story/130903/bbc-feature-on-terry-davis-of-templeos/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1work=[[BBC Radio 4]] |title=The Digital Human |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000b4r3 |publisher=BBC |access-date=January 6, 2021 |date=November 11, 2019 |archive-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218233111/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000b4r3 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==

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[[Category:Arizona State University alumni]]

[[Category:Converts to Christianity from atheism or agnosticism]]

[[Category:American criticshomeless of atheismpeople]]

[[Category:Former atheists and agnostics]]

[[Category:Former atheist critics of atheism]]

[[Category:Homeless people]]

[[Category:American outsider artists]]

[[Category:People with schizophrenia]]

[[Category:People from West Allis, Wisconsin]]

[[Category:Railway accident deaths in the United States]]

[[Category:VideoAmerican video bloggers]]