Isaac Kleiner

"Therefore, I repeat, evacuate City 17 at once, if not sooner. I cannot state this without enough undue emphasis."

- Isaac Kleiner

Doctor Isaac Kleiner is a fictional character from Half-Life and Half-Life 2. An archetypal 'absent-minded genius scientist', he is a prolific author of several works on teleportation and interdimensional travel, and one of the few survivors of the incident that took place in the Black Mesa Research Facility. Later on, he becomes a key (if somewhat self-conscious) leader of the Resistance against the Combine Empire, and a prime member of the Resistance's science team.

He is affectionately referred to simply as "Izzy" by Dr. Eli Vance on various occasions. Some sources also erroneously refer to the character as Dr. Alex Kleiner, based on an apparent inaccuracy in the strategy guide of the original Half-Life.

Half-Life
Although Dr. Kleiner's character design is based on the "bald, glasses" scientist model from the original Half-Life (dubbed "Walter Bennett" by fans and later named as such in the Opposing Force and Blue Shift expansion packs) he is not intended to be the same character, and never interacted with Gordon at all during the Black Mesa Incident. Also, the texture file for Dr. Kleiner's face is called "walter_face.vtf". This is likely to be referring to Walter Bennett. Before Half-Life 2, the only reference in the games to Kleiner was during Half-Life: Decay when Dr. Keller mentions he "does not understand what Kleiner sees in that boy," referring to Gordon.

Dr. Kleiner, who recommended Gordon Freeman for employment at Black Mesa, worked with him as part of the facility's Anomalous Materials team and was one of his professors at MIT. He manages to survive the Resonance Cascade disaster of the first game with the aid of Eli Vance, though exactly how he escapes is unknown. One logical explanation is that he, Eli Vance (With his daughter Alyx) and perhaps some other Black Mesa personnel took an SUV and escaped the same way Barney Calhoun, Rosenburg, Simmons, and Walter Bennett did at the end of Blue Shift.

In the strategy guide for the original Half-Life, a Dr. Alex Kleiner is mentioned, which can be assumed to be the same person. This is likely an error, although it is entirely possible during the development of Half-Life 2 he had his name changed, and is most likely the same person mentioned at the beginning.

Half-Life 2


Along with colleagues (and fellow survivors) Alyx Vance, Dr. Eli Vance, and Barney Calhoun, he makes up the core of the resistance against the Combine. Dr. Kleiner has set up a lab in City 17 in an old abandoned warehouse. A teleportation system, developed jointly by Kleiner and Vance, allows for near-instantaneous transportation between Kleiner's lab and Vance's facility, several miles distant. As a pet, Dr. Kleiner keeps a debeaked headcrab he calls 'Lamarr' and at some points in the game calls 'Hedy' (a reference to 1930s actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr). When Barney informs him that Gordon Freeman has arrived, Kleiner tells Barney to send Gordon on his way - although he forgot that Gordon would not know the way to the lab. Alyx eventually had to rescue Gordon when he found his way, by luck, into a section of the building Kleiner hid in but was cornered by several Civil Protection officers while unarmed.

Kleiner reintroduced Gordon to his HEV Suit which he had upgraded before sending him on his way to Eli's larger facility, Black Mesa East outside the limits of City 17, unfortunately, Lamarr interfered with the teleportation process. Gordon was thrown through several locations before finally rematerializing outside the window behind Dr Kleiner. He was then required to leave Kleiner's lab on foot and would not return until the Resistance rose against the Combine.

During the rebellion, Dog turned up to Kleiner who kept him safe in his lab. Kleiner was apparently alone during most of the rebellion (save for Lamarr) as Barney was leading on the rebellion fronts, so protected himself with a shotgun. When Gordon and Alyx teleported in from Nova Prospekt a week into the rebellion, Kleiner was very optimistic about the Resistance's odds and tried to convince Alyx of this, at which he failed. He is not seen for the rest of the game but managed to escape City 17 at some point between when Alyx left to find Gordon and the start of Episode One.

A depiction of Kleiner's younger self is also featured in Half-Life 2, appearing on the cover of Popular Scientist, a fictional magazine (and spoof of 'Popular Science' magazine) that would have to be published prior to the Black Mesa Incident. In it, he sported sideburns and had more hair, which is seen as brown in color. Below the magazine cover is a young Alyx's drawing of Dr. Kleiner with the words 'Uncle Kleiner' on it.

Half-Life 2: Episode One


In Half-Life 2: Episode One Kleiner is not seen in person and is only spoken to directly once in a video transmission with Alyx during the first chapter. However, he is frequently seen during the later chapters on video screens and televisions previously seen reserved for Dr. Breen's propaganda. This message is recorded and looped, simply instructing survivors to make their way to their nearest train station to evacuate City 17. Kleiner also amusingly informs people that the Combine's Suppression Field is no longer in effect so that "those so inclined should give serious consideration to doing their part for the revival of the species" to which Alyx comments, "is Dr Kleiner really telling everyone to... get busy?". The messages also include some vague information to try and rally people in the face of the fact that the rebellion is only really beginning and will likely get worse before it gets better.

Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Kleiner reappears once again in Half-Life 2: Episode Two. First, he is seen beside Dr. Eli Vance and Dr. Arne Magnusson on the first video communication with Alyx and Gordon, he is not seen again until later on when Alyx and Gordon reach the White Forest Base except during the G-Man's speech. He spends most of his time working with Dr. Magnusson on his rocket. Before the launch, Kleiner briefly notes Magnusson that there is an eight and a half pound anomaly, but Magnusson declares it is within tolerance and the rocket should be fired anyway. Unfortunately for Kleiner, the anomaly was Lamarr who had snuck onto the rocket while the nose cap was open earlier.

Towards the game's ending, when it is discovered that Judith Mossman found Aperture Science's lost research ship, Borealis, Kleiner is enthusiastic about the research contained on the vessel's use against the Combine, but Eli disagrees with him and says it could be responsible for another disaster on par with the Black Mesa Incident. After the rocket lauch, Kleiner stays inside to help Magnusson with destroying the Combine superportal while Alyx, Eli, and Gordon go outside to see the superportal dissipate. This act may have inadvertantly saved him, as the group was ambushed by Advisors while outside, and Eli was killed.

Behind the scenes

 * Kleiner is voiced by Harry S. Robins, the voice of all scientists in the original Half-Life and its expansions.
 * Kleiner's appearance was based on Ted Cohrt, an accountant working in the firm about Valve's office. Kleiner's original model face depicts him as much older, and the team changed his mind when they came across Ted Cohrt in an elevator. Sometimes they ran into him at Starbucks and team members who didn't know he was Kleiner's face started staring at him, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar. After Cohrt was taken as the model, the older Kleiner face was recycled into the elder Counter-Strike: Source hostage. This old version is named "Cohrt" or (incorrectly) "Chort" by the gamers. Although this model has nothing to do with Ted Cohrt, is is the name of the model, while the current model, based on Ted Cohrt, is simply called "kleiner".

Trivia

 * At the end of the Half-Life 2 chapter Entanglement, Dr. Kleiner is shown poking his head through a door in his lab while holding a shotgun in a possible nod towards the original Half-Life. A scientist at the end of the chapter Lambda Core is shown holding a shotgun in a similar, scared fashion, and is spawned as the scientist model that Dr. Kleiner is based on. It is possible that that said scientist is Kleiner.