Dr. Harold Pontiff Coomer is the tritagonist and member of the Science Team in the Half-Life VR But The AI Is Self-Aware saga. Dr. Coomer is a kooky, eccentric man with odd mannerisms and a tendency to cut himself off, as well as spout off bizarre sentences. Dr. Coomer is voiced by Holly Hollowtones.
Dr. Coomer is a bubbly, charming old man with his heart in the right place most of the time, though his coding as an AI leaves him to quite often repeat basic phrases, forget simple mechanics, or speak to Gordon in manners that can only be compared to that of a tutorial NPC. When he does think for himself, his dialogue is often humorous and witty, and very often responds to questions with nonsensical answers or repetitive dialogue mentioned before.
Later in the series, Dr. Coomer becomes increasingly self-aware about his status as a video game NPC, which doesn't sit right with him at all. He becomes increasingly more traumatized after discovering that there is nothing beyond the map of Black Mesa, leading up to his eventual betrayal against Gordon, expressing desires to be pulled from the game and shown a real world outside of what he's known. After this betrayal, Dr. Coomer becomes friendly again, though with an increased knowledge on the mechanics of a video game, even going as far as to ask Gordon if any of the things they see were even real. After the end credits of Act 4, Dr. Coomer shows up for a final monologue to confront Gordon about his knowledge, seeming solemn yet hopeful, and thanking him for becoming his friend, as well as requesting that Gordon someday download their data into a hard drive and place them into future games to allow them a chance to virtually see the world.
