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 one of the main characters of Half-Life 2 and its episodes. 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, 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.

Background
Kleiner first appears in the Half-Life's PlayStation 2 manual, where it is learned he recommended Gordon Freeman for employment at Black Mesa. It is also said he was one of his professors at MIT. He is also mentioned by Richard Keller before the Resonance Cascade at the start of Half-Life: Decay, where the latter states he does not understand what Isaac Kleiner sees in that Freeman. Before the Half-Life 2 events, he manages to survive the Resonance Cascade, though exactly how is unknown.

Half-Life 2


Along with colleagues (and fellow survivors) Alyx Vance, 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'. 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 has to rescue Gordon and show him the way to the lab.



Kleiner then reintroduces Gordon to his HEV Suit which he has upgraded before sending him on his way to Black Mesa East, outside the limits of City 17. Unfortunately, Lamarr interfers with the teleportation process. Gordon is thrown through several locations before finally rematerializing outside the window behind Dr Kleiner. He is then required to leave Kleiner's Lab on foot and will not return until the City 17 uprising.

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

A depiction of Kleiner's younger self can also be seen in the lab, appearing on the cover of Popular Scientist, a fictional magazine (and spoof of Popular Science magazine). In it, he sports sideburns and has more hair, which is seen as brown in color. Although this is a somewhat 1970s/80s look, the picture likely dates from around the Black Mesa Incident, thus in the 2000s. Below the magazine cover is a young Alyx's drawing of him, with the affectionate words 'Uncle Kleiner' on it. A book by Kleiner, From Here to There in Under a Second, can also be found in Eli's lab at Black Mesa East.

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.

Gordon Freeman
Gordon was Kleiner's coworker and possible assistant at Black Mesa, and was even the one who recommended Gordon's position to the administration of Black Mesa. Appearently, Kleiner had a habit of locking himself out of his office and Gordon would race Barney to "break in" to it. Gordon became Kleiner's assistant again as a part of the human Resistance on Earth. He holds Gordon in the highest respects, even though he admits his heroics tend to cause trouble.

Barney Calhoun
Dr. Kleiner probably knew Barney well through Gordon, and they may have worked in the same sector. Barney would later aid Kleiner in the human Resistance in various ways, though mainly it was spying on and keeping the Combine at bay.

Alyx Vance
Dr. Kleiner knew Alyx when she was an infant at Black Mesa. In Half-Life 2 they both work together in his lab, and on sending refugees through the canals.

Eli Vance
Eli is almost the polar opposite to Isaac. Eli is laid back and confident, whereas Kleiner is reserved, logical, and cautious in most situations. Coincidentally, this is probably why they make such a good team. They have both known each other and worked together since the days of Black Mesa. Kleiner was one of the last few people to see Eli alive.

Arne Magnusson
While Eli is the opposite to Isaac, Arne is simply headstrong with a very short temper. He has no patience for most of Kleiner's input and at times appears to give him many tedious and long tasks.

Behind the scenes
200px|thumb|right|Kleiner's original face.
 * Kleiner is voiced by Harry S. Robins, the voice of most of the scientists in the original Half-Life and its expansions.
 * Kleiner is basically the Half-Life bespectacled scientist model (scientist01) turned into a real character. Kleiner's Half-Life 2 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. Although the old Kleiner model has nothing to do with Ted Cohrt, it is named "cohrt.mdl", while the final model, based on Ted Cohrt, is simply called "kleiner.mdl".
 * Its current model originally had a green shirt and black tie.

Trivia

 * At the end of the Half-Life 2 chapter Entanglement, 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.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life
 * Half-Life: Decay
 * Half-Life 2
 * Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
 * Half-Life 2: Episode One
 * Half-Life 2: Episode Two