*shrug* Ask the AIs. They had research centers even on max-tech, and didn't scrap them, it seems, since they normally led me throughout in RP production... will have to see if the full Version AIs also do this.
On max-tech, actually, I'd normally scrap one facility in each system for a replicant center at some point. Why wait for your people to breed when you can crank 'em out en masse?
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-- The thing that goes bump in the night