Wouldn't it be fun if there were certain species in the galaxy that player couldn't actually "touch", conquer, destroy, subjugate, handle at all, come even close to handling. Technologically and militarily god-like but removed from current events, mostly non-expansinve and non-intervening, sitting on the sidelines and judging how things are going, sometimes stepping in to help or slap certain races, generally inclined towards keeping the status quo, unwanting of a hegemony, trying to preserve factions from destruction, somewhat like that Pope in M2TW stopping conflicts. Think of Banksian Sublimed and Elder races and their interactions with the titular Culture. Could be used to player's advantage, or to hold his horses, give him missions, tasks, ban him from doing certain things, be able to step in and whip him if he oversteps and destroys factions or uses certain weapons (planet-destroying for example), but rewarding him with trades of tech and resource if he doesn't step on their toes. Come to think of it, could be different factions of gods, good and evil and neutral, all of them way beyond actual playable factions, outside the competition, using less advanced races as their pets and cannon fodder in their conflicts why they themselves do not actually engage in active conflict.
