[corethree]

You need to think deeper.

There are levels of sophistication in "imitation". It follows a gradient. At the low end of this gradient is a bad imitation.

At the high end of this gradient is a perfect imitation. Completely indistinguishable from what it's imitating.

If an imitation is perfect than is it really an imitation?

If I progressively make my imitation more and more accurate am I progressively building an imitation or am I progressively building the real thing?

See what's going on here? You fell for a play on words. It's a common trope. Sometimes language and vocabulary actually tricks the brain into thinking in a certain direction. This word "imitation" is clouding your thoughts.

Think about it. A half built house can easily be called an imitation of a real house.