Imagine Papers Please, but all border crossers are Gordons, some of them carrying suitcases with their labwork you decide (not) to open. You click one of them open and you ether get attacked by a furious cat, or poisoned by chemicals, or both. And some of them do that intentionally, or carry a crowbar taped to their cock, or cause a cascade resonance to your microwaving breakfast if they are especially pissed. These Gordons, man. The headache is granted.
Black Mesa was an insane confluence of theoretical and practical physics. I mean they're inventing fucking interdimensional travel and handheld laser weapons. Also there's a security guard that jokes to Gordon "looks like you're in the barrel today" which implies everyone on the team takes turns in the suit. That was just Gordon's day; he probably does spend most days in an office somewhere doing math