|
Dr. Isaac Kleiner | |
|---|---|
| |
| Biographical and chronological information | |
|
Homeworld: |
Golmar Earth, Golmar Milky Way Galaxy |
|
Home universe: |
|
|
Nationality: |
|
|
Ethnicity: |
|
|
Date of birth: |
November 28th, 1954 Golmar (1298 NE) |
| Physical and biological description | |
|
Species: |
Human |
|
Gender: |
Male |
|
Height: |
1.75 m (5'9 ft) |
|
Hair color: |
Brown (Grayed and bolding) |
|
Eye color: |
Hazel |
|
Skin color: |
Light |
| Societal and political information | |
|
Affiliation: |
|
|
Rank: |
|
|
Occupation(s): |
|
|
Father: |
Emmitt Kleiner (deceased) |
|
Mother: |
Rebecca Kleiner (deceased) |
|
Sibling(s): |
|
|
Other relative(s): |
|
| [Source] | |
Dr. Isaac Kleiner is a male human from Golmar Earth, a Caucasian Jewish-American scientist. An archetypal 'absent-minded genius scientist' (although somewhat more benign), 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 became a key (if somewhat self-conscious) leader of the Earth Freedom Fighters against the Axis, and a prime member of the Resistance science team, and became the primary leader of the resistance when Eli Vance, along with Gordon Freeman, went on a search to find and free Alyx Vance who made a deal with the G-Man to resurrect her father at the cost of her freedom, and later on the first President of the Human-Vortigaunt Federation post-Golmar Civil War. His most notable work would be the works he and Drs Eli Vance and Gordon Freeman made that became instrumental to the creation of the Kleiner-Freeman-Vance Drive Systems, the primary non-Combine, and non-Ancient method the wider Multiverse uses for multiversal travel.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Kleiner first worked as a professor at MIT, where he was one of the mentors of Gordon Freeman. It appears that the two started their friendship already back then, and that Kleiner was quickly impressed by Freeman. Kleiner would later take employment in the Sector C Test Labs of the Black Mesa Research Facility, where he worked with Eli Vance and security guard Barney Calhoun.
During this time, Kleiner appeared to have become a widely recognized scientist, seeing that he was on the front cover of the magazine Popular Scientist, apparently in an article called "Next level of quantum physics", as well as the author to at least one book, From Here to There in Under a Second, likely about teleportation. When Freeman showed interest in a job at Black Mesa, Kleiner recommended him for employment in the Civilian Recruitment Division, and this recommendation combined with Freeman's experience at the Institute for Experimental Physics in Innsbruck, Austria, ensured that he got the position instead of his competitor, Judith Mossman. In Black Mesa, Kleiner would also compete for grant money with Arne Magnusson.
Kleiner had been working with administrative jobs prior to the Black Mesa Incident in Sector C, as he received carbon copies of several letters, from L.M. to other employees, such as his letter regarding Barney Calhoun's new Blue Shift assignment, sent on May 9, 2006 (1350 NE), and L.M.'s letter to Colette Green regarding the Xen crystal swap prior to the incident. Kleiner also appeared to be a Hazardous Environment Supervisor or Instructor, as the Hazard Course Training Schedule sent by Gina Cross to Colette Green mentions that Kleiner was slated to instruct Green for a Hazardous Materials Handling, although it was postponed to June, and ultimately did not happen due to the Black Mesa Incident. At this time, Kleiner also was on friendly terms with many co-workers, namely Gordon, Eli and Barney, although Richard Keller mentioned that he did not understand what Kleiner saw in Freeman.
Combine Rule[]
When the Resonance Cascade and resulting the Black Mesa Incident occurred, Kleiner managed to escape Black Mesa, although exactly how remains unexplained. After escaping the facility, Kleiner relocated to City 17, where he formed up the core of the local Resistance along with Eli Vance, Judith Mossman and Barney Calhoun. As Kleiner and Eli entered City 17, however, Eli lost his leg to a Bullsquid while helping Kleiner over a fence. In the city, Kleiner set up a small lab beneath an abandoned Northern Petrol building, and began working on teleportation, among other works, while also staying in touch with Eli and Judith, who were working at Black Mesa East in the city's outskirts, as well as Eli's daughter Alyx, who was growing up.
Barney worked as a double agent for the local Civil Protection forces at this time, while in the meantime ensuring that Kleiner's Lab would go undiscovered and safe from the Combine. At one point, Kleiner finished his teleport, and tested it with a cat, apparently resulting in its death, forcing Kleiner to resume work on it. In this time, Kleiner also found a Headcrab, which he de-beaked, making it harmless, and named it Lamarr, before keeping her as a pet and, to an extent, domesticating her, much to the disdain of Barney. When Alyx grew older, Kleiner also worked with her and Barney to rescue Citizens from the Combine, and evacuate them through the Underground Railroad located in the City 17 Canals to Black Mesa East which at the time, Kleiner finished up his teleport.
Golmar Uprising[]
Along with colleagues and fellow survivors Alyx Vance, Eli Vance and Barney Calhoun, he made up the core of the Lambda 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 interferes with the teleportation process. Gordon is thrown through several locations, twice in Wallace Breen's office in the Citadel, Eli's lab, a lake containing Ichthyosaurs, and a desert 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 made his leave to find Gordon.
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 mid to late 1990s. 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 (likely about teleportation), can also be found in Eli's lab at Black Mesa East.
Kleiner was nowhere seen in person and only spoken to directly once in a video transmission with Alyx during the first chapter. However, he was on video screens and televisions previously reserved for Breencasts. This message is recorded and looped, simply instructing survivors to make their way to the nearest train station to evacuate City 17. Kleiner also amusingly informed people that the Combine's Suppression Field was 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 included some vague information to try and rally people in the face of the fact that the Rebellion was only really beginning and will likely get worse before it got better. It was likely that all these transmissions are broadcast from White Forest.
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 White Forest(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 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 conflict, it was then discovered that Judith Mossman found the Borealis, Kleiner is enthusiastic about the research contained on the vessel's use against the Combine, but Eli disagrees and states it could be responsible for another disaster on par with the Black Mesa Incident. After the rocket launch, Kleiner remained inside to help Magnusson with destroying the Combine Superportal while Alyx, Eli, Dog and Gordon go outside to see the Superportal dissipated.
Kleiner made his latest book "From Here to There in Under a Second" which according to the back cover, it described the history of teleportation and the potential for its use in the future.
Presidency of the Federation[]
Multiverse War[]
with the declaration of war against the Combine and their growing allies, Isaac personally greeted the current representatives of the alliance, speaking with Padme Amidala, the new Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic after her predecessor was killed by the Combine, sharing his story with her and the senate of what happened to his home universe when the Combine invaded and now doing the same to her galaxy.
Personality[]
Dr. Isaac Kleiner is described as a well-mannered, soft-spoken, brilliant and kind man. Kleiner has a particular way of speech, constantly using expressions that most other people wouldn't use, such as "Oh, fiddlesticks" or "Oh, fie!". He acts politely towards his allies, mainly towards Gordon Freeman, whom he considers a friend, but also with Barney Calhoun and Alyx Vance, this also includes his irritable co-worker Arne Magnusson. Though having a brilliant mind, his experiments do not always work out, and, despite of him being a scientist, Kleiner is a rather distracted, clumsy and forgetful. Kleiner would often lock himself out of his office during his employment in Black Mesa; after the Combine invasion, he still seemed to carry on with this trait, forgetting important lab equipment. Kleiner was also rather emotional, specially with his Headcrab pet, Lamarr, and excitable, demonstrated by his reaction upon finding out Freeman was alive, and shown as well when his invetion work the way he intended.
Regarding humanity as a whole, he seems to possess great hopes for them, and, in his speech, Kleiner delivered many hopeful and inspiring words for all humans to witness, despite stating in that same hijacked Breencast that he was not a public speaker just as he did for the refugees from Pol Earth there is a better chance for them to be better in the times of the First Multiverse War. However, he also seems to be sympathetic towards the Vortigaunts, as he references them in his speech, considering them valuable allies to humanity and opposers to the Combine. He also carries a deep grudge towards the Combine and their crimes against all of humanity, calling them "malefactors". Since the Uprising, he helped Gordon, Barney, Eli and Alyx however he can in order to damage and potentially destroy the Combine once and for all, as he hopes to do.
Kleiner is a smart man, author, scientist, once a teacher at MIT and an ally to the Resistance. He is prolific mainly in science, but he is also shown to have knowledge regarding the Xen lifeforms, such as with his pet Headcrab, Lamarr, whom he presumably debeaked, and the Vortiguants. He also has shotgun that he presumably knows how to use. Even taking up the role as president of the Human-Vortigaunt Federation to improve scientific achievements.
Relationships[]
Family and Relatives[]
Friends and Allies[]
Rivals[]
Quotes[]
Notes[]
- Canon Half Life implies that Kleiner is Jewish given a number of context clues, like having a Hebrew first name, a German surname and naming his pet after a Jewish actress, so in this setting, he's Jewish, although he doesn't practice the faith but does practice much of the culture in a more secular/atheistic manner.