Richard Keller

"My chair is powered, I did not need a push."

- Richard Keller

Dr. Richard Keller is a 55-year old, wheelchair-bound scientist working in the Black Mesa Research Facility with Level 5 security clearance appearing in Half-Life: Decay.

Background
As seen in the Hazard Course Training schedule from the Half-Life PlayStation 2 instruction manual, Gina Cross tests a Mark V HEV Suit prototype under Keller's supervision on May 15, 1998 at 20:00.

Half-Life: Decay
Before the Black Mesa Incident occurs, Keller monitors Gina Cross and Colette Green's preparations for the experiment from his computer terminal. He is partially responsible for allowing the Anti-Mass Spectrometer to run at a greater intensity than it is designed for, something that Rosenberg warns him of, although Keller then mentions that it is the Administrator who ordered this. After the Resonance Cascade, Keller assists Dr. Cross and Dr. Green by communicating with them through their HEV Suits' audio systems to help them stop the effects of the dimensional rift. They are successful in starting a resonance reversal with his assistance, but their fates remain unknown to the other Black Mesa survivors.

Personality and skills
Keller is portrayed as being a temperamental and somewhat contemptuous person in the game. At the start of the game, Keller has a quite harsh temperament. He tends to mock or blame people with ironic remarks. Before the Resonance Cascade, he gives his views about Gordon Freeman's frequent late arrivals, then questions his skills, stating he does not understand what Isaac Kleiner sees "in that boy". It is also hinted that he carries a grudge against his colleague Rosenberg; he mocks him and his "little labs by the trainyard" when the latter express his concerns about running the Anti-Mass Spectrometer at a too high intensity and answers him harshly most of the time. After the Resonance Cascade and for the remainder of the game, his attitude is softer somehow, although he is still very tough if the players fail a mission. At the end of the chapter Resonance, he shows himself to be suspicious about what or who is behind the events, saying "[the] aliens may not all be here by accident".

On Keller's wheelchair is a remote that is possibly connected the Black Mesa network, as he is seen to open doors with it, among others.

Behind the scenes

 * Richard Keller is the first and only disabled person to be seen in the series (disregarding Eli Vance's missing leg in Half-Life 2, not really disabling him), along with the first female employees, Gina Cross and Colette Green. In the three games preceding Half-Life: Decay, the only hint of disabled persons working at or visiting Black Mesa was a wheelchair emplacement in the Black Mesa Transit System monorail, a Black Mesa Announcement System note about disabled personnel during the Half-Life and Blue Shift tram rides along the Transit System, and parking spaces for disabled persons in the underground parking lots in Opposing Force. In Decay, this emplacement is used by Keller. Other examples include two wheelchair ramps in the North Wing of the Level 3 Dormitories, and a wheelchair elevator in the Gamma Labs. The brand of Keller's motorized wheelchair is Invacare, an actual manufacturer and distributor of non-acute medical equipments, including wheelchairs.


 * In the game sound files for Keller, an unused sound, "dk_furher.wav", has him screaming "Mein Führer!... I can walk!" with a German accent, a reference to a scene from Stanley Kubrick's film Dr. Strangelove, where Dr. Strangelove, in a wheelchair, suddenly rises and walks. The animation, named "surprise", can also be found in the model, and has him standing up, scrubbing his thighs and walking away in a half circle. Although it could be speculated that Keller is faking his handicap, these are likely mere Easter eggs left there by the developers, originally to be seen in-game as a bonus, or not.


 * "Richard" is a Norman name meaning "brave power", derived from the Germanic elements "ric" ("power, rule") and "hard" ("brave, hardy"). The Normans introduced this name to Britain, and it has been very common there since that time. It was borne by three kings of England including the famous Richard I the Lionheart, leader of the Third Crusade in the 12th century. "Keller" is a German and Hungarian surname derived from the Middle High German word "Keller", meaning "cellar". This name is either an occupational name for a cellarer or it is for a person who lived in a cellar.

Trivia

 * Except for the tie and the badge, Keller is the only scientist to be seen not wearing standard scientist outfit (thus a lab coat or a HEV Suit).


 * Almost all of Keller's texture files are prefixed with the name "Kleiner", except for the wheelchair. That suggests Keller was originally to be named Kleiner, or was to be the Kleiner originally appearing in Freeman's job letter.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life PlayStation 2 instruction manual
 * Half-Life: Decay