I wanted to return to my thoughts here, now that VINH and I have kissed and made up.

I probably need to rebaseline, so let's try this: forget the EU and specifically Dark Empire for a moment.

Is it believable that the Dark Side of the Force can give an advanced user the means to transfer his dark soul into the body of another person in the hope to achieve a form of immortality? This seems quite in line with the type of thing Black Magic and the Dark Arts are capable of in other fantasy stories.

If there is cloning in the Star Wars universe, wouldn't it stand to reason that it would form a convenient basis on which to create your "All Palpatine, All the Time" immortality plan?

Generally speaking, we don't think that clones would inherit the mind, personality, (accent) or soul of the original. In fact, to avoid the problem I laid out in the original post, I think the clones themselves would have to be so mindless to the point that they're really not that affective at all. They're almost not worth the trouble... so they are determined to not be cost-effective and by the time the OT rolls around, you CAN swing a dead rat and not hit a clone. HOWEVER, if instead of using a clone as a zombie like servant soldier that may or may not do your bidding according to your master plan- you used Dark Side magic to transfer your Dark Soul into the weakminded, but physically perfect copy of your younger self...?

Doesn't this make a fair bit of sense?