Stanley Rosenburg

From Combine OverWiki, the English Half-Life Wikia

Doctor Rosenberg was an employee of the Black Mesa Research Facility. Dr. Rosenberg can be seen in Half-Life: Decay with Doctor Richard Keller at his side. In Half-Life: Blue Shift, Barney Calhoun helped Dr. Rosenberg and two of his colleagues escape from Black Mesa.

[edit] Biography

Rosenburg was assigned to advanced physics research in the Anomalous Materials Laboratory and Lambda Sector. He was at the front of many scientific advances. For example, he designed the anti-mass spectrometer.

His rank is unknown, but he had the highest level of security clearance, and judging by his habit of automatically issuing instructions to other advanced researchers, it would appear that he was a very senior member of the Science Team.

Stanley Rosenburg was one of the scientists working on the experiment that eventually evolved into the Black Mesa Incident. Unlike other scientists, he held a respect for the security staff and often watched them train under the watch of security trainer Miller (see below).

When Gina Cross and Colette Green first arrived at the test chamber's control room and were receiving instructions from Dr. Keller, Rosenberg interrupted them and voiced his concern to Keller over having the anti-mass spectrometer run above 90% capacity, which is past the safety buffer zone for the equipment. Dr. Keller, however, dismissed his concern and stated that administrator Wallace Breen's orders for this were clear. Keller then told Rosenberg that he can either stay and watch the experiment or return to his labs by the train yards. Rosenberg remained, and shortly thereafter the resonance cascade occurs. Rosenburg felt a huge amount of guilt over the resonance cascade and believed himself to be most responsible.

Immediately after the disaster, Rosenburg conversed with Dr. Keller over what they should do. Rosenburg made clear that he believed their greatest responsibility should be to maintain the safety of all Black Mesa staff. Although Keller believed that they should attempt to reset the displacement fields first, he eventually came to an agreement with Rosenburg. They soon came up with a plan to contact the military so that the military could help the staff and evacuate the facility as soon as possible. Gina and Colette escorted Rosenberg through the Hazard Course to a satellite communications center on the surface, where he was able to transmit a distress signal to the military. Dr. Rosenburg elected to wait there for the military, and this was the last time Gina and Colette ever saw him, as they returned below to assist Dr. Keller. However, they heard him speak later on.

Soon, Rosenburg made the grisly discovery of the military's ulterior motives of silencing all of the facility's personnel. With the help of fellow scientists Harold, Walter Bennett, and Simmons, he tried to enact an escape plan to get out of Black Mesa. During this time, though, he was captured by soldiers and held captive in a freight car for questioning. Meanwhile, Harold, was cornered and fatally wounded. Before Harold dies, Barney Calhoun discovered him and killed the two soldiers who attacked him. Harold instructed Calhoun to find Dr. Rosenburg to help him with his plan.

Calhoun was able to overcome the military occupying the train yards and freed Dr. Rosenburg. Rosenburg informs him that their plan is to use the equipment in the prototype labs to teleport to safety. Additionally, he added that the scientists had faith in a man named Gordon Freeman. Rosenburg did not share their optimism, and wondered how so many people thought one man would be able to reverse the catastrophe of the resonance cascade.

He led Calhoun to the unused part of the complex where Walter Bennett and Simmons, were already preparing the machine. Rosenburg instructed Calhoun that he must activate and align a relay device on Xen in order for them to be able to accurately set their destination. Calhoun travelled to Xen and was successful in accomplishing this task, but after returning through the portal back to Earth (It is here that Gina and Colette, temporariliy caught in a harmonic reflux, hear Rosenburg's voice calling Calhoun through the portal), they discovered that they need another power cell to replenish the teleporter's power for their escape. Rosenburg, again, directed Calhoun to venture into hostile territory, though guilty about sending his savior into such danger he notes that the rest of them were essential to complete upgrades to the teleporter and lacked combat training that Calhoun had. Additionally, he rallied all nearby scientists and security staff (of which there were few) to assist Calhoun so they could all get out.

Although all the men that Rosenburg rallied died, Calhoun acquired a newly charged power cell from the lab's sub-basement and delivered it to Rosenburg, Simmons, and Bennett. Dr. Rosenburg then initiated the system and brought it online. They all narrowly avoided the military's invasion of the prototype labs, teleporting to the safety of an unnoticed access tunnel before escaping Black Mesa in an SUV towards an uncertain future.

As Barney Calhoun survived, it can be surmised that Rosenburg, Walter Bennett, and Simmons lived as well though they haven't been seen since. It is possible they were killed in the interval leading up to Half-Life 2 such as during the Seven Hour War; or more mundanely, were relocated to a different city other than City 17, although, technically, Valve doesn't include Blue Shift as canon.

[edit] Trivia

• In Blue Shift, Rosenberg makes his first appearance during the Hazard Course tutorial, long before Calhoun encounters him in the train yards. He can be seen behind the observer's window during the duck-jump portion of the training.