SUBJECTS: Two normal white dwarf rabbits.  The rabbit hereafter labeled subject 1a was an adult male with a birthmark near its tail, and no other identifying marks.  The rabbit hereafter labelled subject 2a was an adult male with a crimp on the right ear, and no other identifying marks.  During the course of the investigation, several other rabbits were produced, but the subjects of this investigation will be two such rabbits, to be labelled subject 1b, and subject 2b.

MATERIALS: A class 9, tech level 17 cylindrical incubator was used to grow body tissue.  This incubator measures 3 meters long and 1 meter in diameter.  The sick bay in the Anastasia is equipped with two such incubators.  A tech level 17 memory transfer unit was also used, as well as the ship's computer to store mind images.  The Anastasia has one such unit in its sick bay.

PROCEDURE: Rabbit 1a was taught to run through a type XA level 1 maze.  Rabbit 1a required 11 attempts before the maze was learned to criterion.  A normal fixed-rate reinforcement schedule was used.  Rabbit 2a was taught to run through another such maze using the same reinforcement schedule.  Rabbit 2a required only 8 attempts before the maze was learned to criterion.

Then a small amount of tissue was excised from the earlobe of both rabbits.  The tissue from subject 1a was placed in incubator 1, and the tissue from subject 2a in incubator 2.  The rabbits were placed in turn into the memory transfer unit, and their mind images were stored on computer.  They were then placed in stasis in low berth for three weeks.

During those three weeks, the tissue in the two incubators were used to grow two full size adult male dwarf rabbits, using a procedure described in another classified report.  This procedure will be submitted to the Imperial Patent Office.

All four rabbits were brought out of stasis at the same time, and the mind image from subject 1a was transferred to subject 1b, which had been grown from the tissue of subject 1a.  Similarly the mind image of subject 2a was transferred to subject 2b.  The four rabbits were then submitted to a variety of behavioral and maze-learning tests, as well as a physiological examination.

RESULTS: Subject 1b was indistinguishable from Subject 1a and subject 2b was indistinguishable from subject 2a on all tests.  All four subjects were taught to run the two mazes utilized initially.  Subjects 1a and 1b performed the very first run of the first maze to criterion.  Subjects 2a and 2b performed the very first run of the second maze to criterion.  Subject 1a required 12 attempts to learn the second maze to criterion, while subject 1b only required 11 attempts.  Both subjects 2a and 2b required 9 attempts to learn the first maze to criterion.

In subsequent learning experiments, no significant differences were detected between subjects 1a and 1b and between subjects 2a and 2b.

The physiological examination revealed no differences either. Subjects 1a and 1b had the same size and mass, as did Subjects 2a and 2b. Subject 1b had a birthmark corresponding to the birthmark on subject 1a, and subject 2b had a crimp on the right ear similar to the crimp on subject 2a.
 

CONCLUSION:  The cloning experiments were an unqualified success.  There was no detection of any differences at all between the cloned and original rabbits.

FUTURE RESEARCH:  The next logical step is to attempt the cloning and mind transfer of human subjects.  It is apparent that the mind-transfer equipment on board the Anastasia was meant for human mind transfer.  But there are a number of ethical issues that have to be resolved before such a cloning can be attempted.  The first is playing GOD.  No person has ever CREATED a specific life before.  Secondly, what would be the political and sociological implications of having more than one of a particular person around?

This said, the least ethically repugnant possibility would be to restore the life of a murder victim (someone who should not have died anyway) to a clone of the victim's body.  To do this the brain and body tissue would have to be rescued within minutes of the victim's demise.