I have been thinking about this idea for years.  I have hinted at it from time to time.  It has always been something that people thought would be cool, but not a priority.

I think now that new players are joining and some significant improvements are being attempted to the game design, I think now is the time to start it, and so am bring it up again.

The idea is very, very simple and could easily be incorporated into the game.

Basically, with the recent report you get when you explore a planet, or when you finish building infra, or take a planet, at random, a little message pops up that states:

"Surveyors have unearthed an ancient rune artifact of a long-lost civilization on planet xx,xx:xx.  Xenoarcheologists have translated the following: <insert link to IC wikipage>"

The text is linked to excerpts of a novel set in the of Imperial Conflict Universe, the main characters of the story of the story being the players personas themselves, and the moderators and designers of the game as well, etc. the plot following in-game and game community drama, round by round as the game has developed over time.

I would assume these excerpts would be written not only by me, but submitted by many players.  Over time, someone could compile and organize them into a full-length novel, and maybe even a movie.