the maps? "
Because they didn't want the clones to be found before they were ready to be used. They came in the nick of time, which meant the Republic had no time to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Palps was pulling the strings all along ...allowing the Jedi to think that they were thinking for themselves. Palps set plenty of traps for them along the way, and the Jedi dove for every carrot dangled in front of them."
"I hate the idea of a fatherless birth, but the Palpatine/Darth Bubonic conception plot works way better for me than a Christ-like birth."
If Palps was pulling all the strings, and purposely created a "Chosen One", then he knowingly created the tool of his own demise. (Obi-wan specifically states that the Prophecy foretold the Sith being destroyed.) This scenario makes no sense.
If Palps doesn't know about the Prophecy, then what's the point in creating a life to be trained as a Jedi, yet raised outside the territory of the Jedi, to be found well after the age at which a Jedi should be born? Not only this, but you also have to take into account the rather convenient coincidence that the life Palpatine created turns out to become the tool that destroys him, as prophesized. If Palps didn't know about the Prophesy, then he couldn't have been pulling the strings, because he wouldn't be aware of all the necessary factors in his plan, would he?
I might point out this line from the ROTJ novelization:
Quote
"My master, a small Rebel force has penetrated the shield and landed on Endor."
"Yes, I know." There was no hint of surprise in his tone; rather, fulfillment.
Vader noted this, then went on. "My son is with them."
The Emperor's brow furrowed less than a millimeter. His voice remained cool, unruffled, slightly curious. "Are you sure?"
"I felt him, my master." It was almost a taunt. He knew the Emperor was frightened of young Skywalker, afraid of his power. Only together could Vader and the Emperor hope to pull the Jedi Knight over to the dark side. He said it again, emphasizing his own singularity. "I felt him."
"Strange, that I have not," the Emperor murmured, his eyes becoming slits. They both knew the Force wasn't all-powerful-and no one was infallible with its use. It had everything to do with awareness, with vision. Certainly, Vader and his son were more closely linked than was the Emperor with young Skywalker-but, in addition, the Emperor was now aware of a crosscurrent he hadn't read before, a buckle in the Force he couldn't quite understand. "I wonder if your feelings on this matter are clear, Lord Vader."
"They are clear, my master." He knew his son's presence, it galled him and fueled him and lured him and howled in a voice of its own. "Then you must go to the Sanctuary Moon and wait for him," Emperor Palpatine said simply. As long as things were clear, things were clear.
"He will come to me?" Vader asked skeptically. This was not what he felt. He felt drawn.
"Of his own free will," the Emperor assured him.
At the beginning of ESB, (4 years before ROTJ), Palps said that Luke could destroy them, yet it was Vader who did so. In ROTJ, Palps didn't forsee Luke coming to Endor. Despite this, you still believe Palps set up such a complicated plan, resting all his hopes on a ten-year plan where at least one Jedi master would try to train Anakin, and do so poorly as well?
Here are some other points to Keep in mind: Not only was he not aware that Valorum has sent two Jedi Knights to Naboo (Qui-gon and Obi-wan), but when He did find this out, he wanted them killed.
Also, Qui-gon's "trip" to Tatooine was based solely on the fact that their hyperdrive was damaged by random gunfire.
Thirdly, Palpatine sent Darth Maul to kill Qui-gon and Obi-wan on Tatooine. Not only do I not recall him telling Maul to be careful with the 10-year-old boy that you say he deliberately placed there, but had Maul succeeded, Anakin would never have been brought to Padme's ship, because that was solely Qui-gon's idea, whose beliefs in the Force are so utterly unique from all the other Council Members that he is the first known Jedi to become "one with the Force", yet Palps was supposed to foresee him saving Anakin, and then convenientaly dying so that Obi-wan would train him?
"Yeah, but Palps was counting on the fact that one or two Jedis would choose to train Anakin. Qui-gon would have done so had he lived. All Palpatine needed was one Jedi knight to accept Anakin to divide the Jedi. And dividing groups of people from within is Palpatine's main strategy in everything he does."
But you presume that Qui-gon would have done as bad a job as Obi-wan did.
Sorry, but this is just the iceberg of a tremendous house of cards that must be in play for your theory to take place, yet throughout TPM, Palpatine's plans were repeatedly changed within the course of a few days. I think you are giving his statement about "everything is going as I have forseen" a bit too much credit. ROTJ shows exactly how terribly incorrect his foresight can be. If he were as perfect as you claim, he would have forseen Vader's attack, right?
"I hate the idea of a fatherless birth, but the Palpatine/Darth Bubonic conception plot works way better for me than a Christ-like birth. And I don't really think there's a question about what this midi-chlorian confession meant ... I can't see why Lucas would have included the line of dialogue in Sith had he not intended to suggest that a Sith lord engineered Anakin's birth. George is not exactly subtle, you know."
A couple of things: If Palps had such a power:
1) Why didn't he heal Anakin with it? IIRC, Anakin must survive by use of a walking iron lung. That, in and of itself, puts a BIG whole in the concept of this supposed power that Palps claims to have, yet never uses.
2) If Palps had this power, why not create another Jedi to replace Vader? All the background informatino states that Palps wanted to replace him because he had become weaker as a result of his injuries, yet there's no sign of a replacement. Palps doesn't even know about Luke (another hole in the "He's pulling all the strings" theory.), so how could he possibly expect Vader's son (whom both he and Obi-wan considered a definite threat) to come and replace him?
Sorry, but I simply cannot buy that Palps is able to predict that creating Anakin would eventually help him wipe out the Jedi, based on his track record throughout the rest of the films. You may not like the "virgin birth" scenario, but Lucas has talked about it many times, and your scenario simply requires way too many dominoes to fall in place in scenarios where he really has no control over. What he could control was the Senate and the Republic, but He cannot influence the Jedi council in their closed sessions in the manner you imply.