Richard Keller

Good

"Oh, co-doctors! It's nice to see someone is on time today. Dr. Freeman is running late... Again."

- Richard Keller

Doctor 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.

Half-Life: Decay
Before the Black Mesa Incident occurred, Keller was to monitor Dr. Gina Cross and Dr. 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 was 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 following the events of Decay are unknown.

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, is attitude is softer somehow, although he is still very though if the players fail a mission.

Trivia
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. Stangelove, where Dr. Strangelove, in a wheelchair, suddenly rises and walks. It was probably left there as an Easter Egg. Also, an unused animation from his model has him standing up and walking.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life: Decay