The Black Mesa Incident
On 15 July 1997, a resonance cascade occurred at the Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico. The cascade was caused by an accident during a routine experiment carried out by the facility's Anomalous Materials lab. Theoretical physicist Gordon Freeman was tasked with inserting a Xen crystal into the device, whose purpose was not yet decided by those creating it.
"What does our device do?" "Haven't decided yet."
The incident