The story of Terry A. Davis is a tragic tale of a brilliant programmer — a tortured genius who suffered from schizophrenia and died young at the age of 48.

Terrence Andrew Davis was born in December 1969, and at an early age, he learned assembly on a Commodore 64. He graduated as a computer and electrical engineer and worked for Ticketmaster from 1990 until 1996.

The tragedy began somewhere in 1996 when he experienced his first schizophrenic episode. While he was an atheist, his illness led him to believe that he was receiving messages from God. Later, he claimed that aliens and government agents were following him.

In 2005, he stated that he wanted to build an operating system. His illness, combined with his genius, drove him to create an operating system called "Temple OS," which he believed was the "temple of God."

To build the OS, he created a new programming language called Holy C (a play on "Holy See"), a variant of C and C++. He worked alone for 12 years to complete the operating system. Temple OS had VGA 640x480 graphics, was multi-core, and supported FAT32. Terry A. Davis claimed that the specifications for Temple OS were given to him by God.

He was undergoing treatment for his condition and lived with his parents. However, after Terry stopped taking his medication, his parents gave him an ultimatum: either resume treatment or leave the house. Terry chose to leave and lived on the streets, receiving food and support from his fans.

In August 2018, he was struck by a train. The investigation did not conclude whether it was a suicide or an accident.