rules.txt contains rules and the overarching goals of the IOCCC, not the particular theme/goal for this year, and now I've wasted a few minutes poking through it to make sure. Thanks a lot.
I don't think there are any "goals" to the IOCC beyond writing the most clever and obfuscated code. There are only rules limiting what's acceptable.
You pointed me in the right direction, thanks! I was confusing IOCCC with the Underhanded C Coding Contest, which does have a goal / theme.