Sir Terry Pratchett Succumbs To "the Embuggerance," Aged 66

New submitter sp1nl0ck writes Sir Terry Pratchett, the creator of Discworld, has died aged 66, following a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Sir Terry announced that he was suffering from The Embuggerance in an open letter to fans over seven years ago, and recently had to cancel a planned appearance at the International Discworld Convention last summer, and donated over £500K of his own money to research into the condition. He also spoke in favour of a euthanasia tribunal, the members of which would consider the case of each '...applicant...to ensure they are of sound and informed mind, firm in their purpose, suffering from a life-threatening and incurable disease and not under the influence of a third party'. Sadly, he didn't survive long enough to see such a tribunal — or indeed any kind of assistance for those suffering from an incurable condition who wish to end their own life — come into being. More at the BBC.

Comments

This sucks.

[ElectraFlarefire]

A lot.

Re:This sucks.

[B33rNinj4]

Yes, it does. He was a fantastic writer, and will be missed.

Re:This sucks.

[RabidReindeer]

He wrote stories that were witty, entertaining - and full of knives.

The essence of Terry Pratchett can be summed up in one of his more frequent observations: that in the eyes of society, living in a vermin-infested slum practically makes you a criminal, but own a whole neighborhood of them and you're a pillar of the community.

Re:This sucks.

[ShanghaiBill]

Ironic, given the bible gives no direct statement against suicide.

The Bible also does not say anything about abortion or embryonic stem cell research. In fact, the story of Esau and Jacob implies that birth, not conception, is what is important. But most people don't read religious works for guidance, they read them to find justification for what they already believe.

Re:This sucks.

[operagost]

As you have, because you ignored Luke 1:41-44, Psalm 51, Psalm 139, Jeremiah 1:5, and Hosea 12. Those indicate humanity before birth. Interpret as you will, but don't claim the converse as "fact".

Embryonic stem cell research? REALLY? The bible doesn't mention stealing people's credit card information or hijacking airplanes, either, so those must be OK as well.

Are you one of those people who claim that the second amendment only protects muskets (and artillery, obviously)?

Re:This sucks.

[malkavian]

The problem is that it's so damn difficult to get an easy suicide: Guns, sure.. In the UK, we're not allowed them, so scratch that. Pills.. The stuff that'd take you down quietly and peacefully is controlled quite strictly (and an OD on a street drug isn't pretty or painless).. Knives.. That's a painful and traumatic way to go. Jumping.. As above.. That's a traumatic and stressful way to go. Hanging.. Again, a traumatic and painful way to go. That's the simple stuff that springs to mind, and it always leaves a mess for some unsuspecting person to have to deal with (usually your friends, or immediate family; that is pretty damn traumatic for them too). Euthanasia is a controlled environment, where the exit from life is as peaceful as it can be. It's all planned, so there's no horrific discovery. It's all taken care of by people who are geared to doing this (medical professionals, who are used to mortality, and the system is geared to handling it gracefully and with a minimum of trauma). I'm definitely on the side of pro-euthanasia.. We put animals down to save them suffering, because it's the kind thing to do. We're just not kind enough to our own to let us choose for ourselves if we want to put ourself down quietly.

Death

[ledow]

At least Death should be kind to him.

He made Death more human - and humane - than almost any author before him.

Terry, Sir, just make sure you don't end up cleaning Albert's boots.

Thank you, Terry.. it was an awesome ride with you

[Anonymous Coward]

“And he goes around killing people?” said Mort. He shook his head. "There’s no justice.”
Death sighed. No, he said,...THERE IS JUST ME.

Ook?

[Kinthelt]

Ook. :(

Re:sadness

[JustNiz]

Thank you for sharing that. It was like the old man wrote it himself. And I don't think there's any higher commendation.

Re:Thank you, Terry.. it was an awesome ride with

[funwithBSD]

“And he goes around killing people?” said Mort. He shook his head. "There’s no justice.”
Death sighed. No, he said,...THERE IS JUST ME.

WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?

The Reaper Man- Terry Pratchett

Got to get past the silly filter.