So I've decided that Firefly is going to be more literally lich-like. Instead of the Eternal Womb being located in a lavish throne room, it's squirreled away somewhere deep within the cavernous capital complex, which occupies the entire surface, and possibly interior, of a dwarf planet. It's true location may have even been forgotten over the millennia, or may only be known to an inner circle that perpetuates the myth that the Eternal Womb's location is lost to dissuade people from trying to find and disable it. Firefly himself may no longer know where his body is. When he wants to make an appearance, he uses remotely operated robotic avatars or digitized recreations of his likeness projected onto vid screens.
He doesn't appear often, which only fuels conspiracy theories about him actually being dead, with the Partisan leadership using his image as a Big Brother figure and the locus of a cult of personality. A more plausible explanation for his reclusiveness is that he's developed dementia over the course of the 33 millennia he's been alive, since the vulpithecine psyche isn't equipped to store memories for that long. He drifts in and out of lucidity, only showing himself during these brief windows of sanity. (Recall that the seat of his consciousness is still within his physical body, not uploaded to the network, so he can't just offload memories or acquire more space.)
There is also a rumor among Wayfarers outside PT that Firefly regrets his actions as the Great Leader and wishes to bring an end to his unnaturally prolonged earthly life. These rumors only grow more numerous after First Contact. Whether he's crazy or contrite, it's clear to everyone that he's no longer in charge of day to day decision making. The vast majority of actions are done “according to his will”, with only a pretense of seeking the Great Leader's approval before moving forward.
Speaking of cults of personality, a literal cult has arisen that worships the lichlord under the title The Master. Partisan leadership dithers between persecuting the sect as “dulls” (a derogatory term Partisans use to refer to people of faith) and promoting the cult as a means of control. Partisan policies on this and other matters can swing between extremes depending on who holds sway over the party at the time.