We are going to do some cloning.

Richard's not a doctor, but he plays one in this column. And what's with this "we" thing Kemosabe?

I have a client with Parkinson's disease, and so I take a cell from his tongue, extract the DNA from it, insert it into a human egg, zap the egg with electricity, add some chemicals (sorry, the exact formula is secret), wait about a day, extract the cells my patient needs and inject them into his brain so -- knock on wood -- he will have Parkinson's no more.

I find it fascinating that waving his wands and saying, "a miracle occurs here" is insufficient. Richard still has to knock on wood for luck to effect a cure. This is probably somewhat indicative of his (and most illiberal utopian statists) philosophical understanding of science.

It is at this point, if certain lawmakers have their way, that the cops will burst in, cuff me -- and throw me in jail for possibly 10 years.

But, what has this got to do with cloning or knocking on wood?

How much of this is science fiction?

I've never met him, but I'm certain Richard is not gay because he is such an excellent straight man.