Subject:      C5-2b Results
From:         BSpollen@gnn.com (Brian Spollen)
Date:         1996/10/22
Message-Id:   <54jh8c$3ie@news-c1.gnn.com>
Newsgroups:   rec.puzzles.crosswords

Brian Spollen
BSpollen@gnn.com

Thanks to the participants of C5-2b.  Judging was made difficult
by an abundance of good and imaginative clues; a number of those
who didn't "win, place, or show" just barely missed.

First place was achieved by Merlyn Leroy with:
 
  Fascinated by quiet, oddly-shaped bell in perfect working order (10)
  Points to start of fire - old cellar incinerator (4)
  Same lens cracked without being handled? (8)

Second place goes to Ed Coulson's:

  Fascinated with spring-time's beginning (10)
  Chiefs of financial offices congegrate in meeting places (4)
  Unidentified delusional male captured by famous G-man (8)

Murray Smith was awarded third place for:

  Transfixed response: "Bea?" "Oh!" "You and Dee"? (10)
  Short-sellers inside provided negative points (4)
  Farmer's daughters' consorts e.g.? (8)

Here are *all* the clues, sans explanations:

====================================================================

Points inside UFO circles (4)
Destruction of Men's seal leads to lack of identification.(8)
Stretch spring to be entranced(10)

Fascinated with spring-time's beginning (10)
Chiefs of financial offices congegrate in meeting places (4)
Unidentified delusional male captured by famous G-man (8)

Shift vault in a trance   (10)
Centers for discussion of enemy's view    (4)
Anonymous bastard ?    (8)

Transfixed response: "Bea?" "Oh!" "You and Dee"? (10)
Short-sellers inside provided negative points (4)
Farmer's daughters' consorts e.g.? (8)
	
Mesmerised while the rest are tied up (10)
Interesting... points back... finds magic offering (4)
Anonymous, confused - the French Mensa (8)

Fascinated by quiet, oddly-shaped bell in perfect working order (10)
Points to start of fire - old cellar incinerator (4)
Same lens cracked without being handled? (8)

Loose blonde plus a cocktail ... absolutely enchanted. (10)
Back-up intensive care of centres of operation (4)
unidentified = N (A+MEL) ESS = NAMELESS

Obscure salesmen! (8)
Fake gasp of relief was audible at the points of greatest concentration (4)
Mean border held by the power of magic (10)

Entranced? Confused? Blondes pull endlessly (10)
Music often provides reflection of points of concentration (4)
Anonymous 'ship of the desert' lost its head in Scottish loch (8)

Incantation guaranteed to leave you entranced (10)
Starters, full of cooked ingredients, prove attractions (4)
Unrecognised ambiguous maleness (8)

In a daze, Hale maintains short lead (about 45 inches) (10)
Inverted logic often conceals points of interest (4)
Mysterious traveling salesmen (8)

Hypnotized to relieve a perceived limitation (10)
Centers start face-off on center ice (4)  
Anonymous letters from salesmen (8)

Music carries, softly building, extension Bach is fascinated by (10)
Centers nifty for fabricating ellipse! (4)
Unidentified bastard (8)

Bay holds first priory's cracked bell transfixed (10)
Seats ninety-nine from back to front (4)
Unidentified salesman mugged (8)

Enchanted body of water covered lead, about 45" (10)
Heard enemy sound sorrowful accents (4)
Anonymous misplays mean less (8)

====================================================================

Finally, all the clues, including explanations.

A few comments on the judging of SPELLBOUND:  a usual rule that's
imposed on cluing is that it's unwise (or downright wrong) to break 
down a compound word and clue its components.  I've cut a *little* 
slack in clues in this contest, but I frowned upon cluing "spell" 
with reference to "magic" and "bound" as some form of "bind" or 
"limit" (using "leap", "jump", etc. went unfrowned-upon).

====================================================================

11d - Points inside UFO circles (4)

Hidden word clue
Points = defn of FOCI
inside = container indicator
uFO CIrcles = container
Surface = I'm invisaging a crop circle here.

> Adequate, if not inspired, definition (it lacks some sort of "center"
> reference); good cryptic and definition

14a - Destruction of Men's seal leads to lack of identification.(8)

Anagram clue
Destruction of - anagram indicator
Men's seal - anagram fodder
lack of identification - defn of NAMELESS
surface - I think lack of identification could be replaced by a better
phrase meaning Nameless (since seals were used to prove who you are) but
I can't think of anything at the moment.

> Curious surface --- "Men's seal" (why is Men capitalized, or why is 
> Man plural?) incongruously brings to mind some sort of communal 
> wax-impressing device; definition defines "namelessness" rather than 
> "nameless".

8d - Stretch spring to be entranced(10)
Charade
Stretch - Spell (as in quantities of time)
spring  - bound (as in leap)
to be entranced - defn of SPELLBOUND
surface - I had a picture of an exhibit at a hands-on science museum 
          exhibit.

> Not bad; the cryptic clues a compound word broken down into its 
> components (not always a good thing), but at least uses different 
> connotations than the source words.

====================================================================

Fascinated with spring-time's beginning (10)

Fascinated= definition
spring= BOUND
time=SPELL
's beginning= indicator that SPELL is to begin the cryptic part.

> Lovely surface; another charade of the word's compound components;
> good thing that hyphen's there, or I'd dislike it.

Chiefs of financial offices congegrate in meeting places (4)

Chiefs of= acrostic indicator
financial offices congregate in= FOCI
meeting places= definition

> Good clue in most respects; definition is consistent with
> the sensible surface.

Unidentified delusional male captured by famous G-man (8)

Unidentified= definition
delusional= anagram indicator
male= fodder=>AMEL
captured by= container indicator
famous G-man=NESS => N(AMEL)ESS

> Good clue in my book (don't know if "G-man" and "Ness" transcend
> U.S. borders very well, but I understood it; for better or worse,
> that's what matters for the moment).

====================================================================

SPELLBOUND  

Shift vault in a trance   (10)

Charade
Shift = spell
vault = bound
in a trance = spellbound definition

> The surface didn't impart a great deal of meaning to me; perhaps
> what was intended was "the zombie moved a mausoleum", but it didn't 
> seem well-expressed (I think it's that there's two one-syllable
> consecutive "t" endings).

-------------------------------------------------------------------
FOCI

Centers for discussion of enemy's view    (4)

Homophone/charade
Centers = definition of foci
discussion of = homophone indicator
enemy's = foe's
view = eye  (the verb)

> My problem with this is "foe's eye" is pronounced "foze eye" ---
> using a "voiced 's'" rather than an "unvoiced 's'" sound .
> I would have been more homophonically comfortable with 
> something which translated to "foe sigh"

-------------------------------------------------------------------

NAMELESS

Anonymous bastard ?    (8)

Double Definition (possible &lit)

> Okay double def., particularly the use of "bastard" as an adjective; 
> I don't see it as a &lit, myself.

====================================================================

8 Down: SPELLBOUND (I'm not sure how to properly categorize this clue-type)

	Transfixed response: "Bea?" "Oh!" "You and Dee"? (10)
	
	Transfixed = definition 
	response = indicator of clue type
	"Bea?" "Oh!" "You and Dee" = phoenetic response to clue answer
	? = The question mark outside the quotes indicates chicanery.

	Surface: The boring side of a fascinating conversation.

> Very original; the nature of the clue makes it necesssarily choppy.
> I find myself disconcerted by the latency of the "spell" part of
> the cryptic.
	
11 Down: FOCI (container/reversal)

	Short-sellers inside provided negative points (4)

	Short-sellers = co (company) [a group of salespeople]
	inside = container indicator
	provided = if
		Thus: I(CO)F
	negative = reversal indicator (like a photographic negative)
		Hence: F(OC)I
	points = definition

	Surface: Real-life on the trading floor of the stock exchange.
	When a person sells their stock "short", they hope that stock
	will drop in value before their deadline to pay for it.
	Manipulation by insiders can effect this outcome, generating large 
	profits with no initial cash outlay. No folk I know. :@) 

> Well, they could always exercise their put option.  Or is that a 
> call option?  I don't really like "sellers" for "company", but
> otherwise a nice clue.

14 Across: NAMELESS (indirect anagram/&lit)

	Farmer's daughters' consorts e.g.? (8)
	
	In North America at least, there is a joke genre which begins:
	Did you hear the one about the travelling salesman and the farmer's
	daughter(s)? Invariably, the principals in the joke remain 
	nameless.
	This is so universally well-known that I feel comfortable 
	submitting it - even though it's of the much-maligned indirect 
	anagram type - because it is eminently solveable.

	Farmer's daughters' consorts = travelling salesmen
	Thus: travelling = anagram indicator
	salesmen = anagram fodder = NAMELESS
	e.g. = indicator that the clue lacks a direct definition
	? = indication of chicanery/&lit features 
 
> Chicanery, indeed.  The author completes his triptych of clues 
> notable for their imaginative cryptic techniques.  In this case,
> not only is the anagram fodder indirect, but so is the indicator;
> not to my taste, I'm afraid, but inspired nevertheless.
====================================================================

Word 1 - SPELLBOUND (8 down)

8. Mesmerised while the rest are tied up (10)

mesmerised - definition
rest - spell
tied up - bound

> Here's a compound-word component-breakdown clue which I 
> can't countenance:  the "bound" part of "spellbound" *means*
> "tied up" essentially; there needs to be a greater 
> difference.  Also, "are" seems superfluous to the cryptic.

Word 2 - FOCI       (11 down)

11. Interesting... points back... finds magic offering (4)

interesting points - definition
back - reversal indicator
finds - hidden word indicator
magic offering - reversed hidden word fodder

> A decent clue; however, what makes foci particularly
> "interesting"?  I might have been better disposed towards
> something like "Concentrating...points back".

Word 3 - NAMELESS   (14 across)

14. Anonymous, confused - the French Mensa (8)

Anonymous - definition
confused - anagram indicator
the French - les (anagram fodder)
Mensa - more anagram fodder
(Due to the obvious nature of the anagram indicator, as well as the
ease with which 'the French' converts to 'les', I thought a hidden
anagram might be acceptable...)

> Your "indirect" point is taken, but I still don't really like
> it --- the impressionistic nature of the surface doesn't help.

====================================================================

Fascinated by quiet, oddly-shaped bell in perfect working order (10)

    Fascinated by = definition of s(p+ellb)ound
    quiet = P
    oddly-shaped bell = ELLB
    in = container
    perfect working order = SOUND

> Nice clue, all-around; a very "sound" cryptic.

Points to start of fire - old cellar incinerator (4)

    Points = definition of foci
    to start of = acronym indicator, rest of clue reads f. o. c. i.

> A caption under the photo of the fire inspector at the scene,
> apparently; good surface concealment of the word at hand as a verb,
> although (again) "points" is something of a lax definition.

Same lens cracked without being handled? (8)

    same lens = anagram fodder
    cracked = anagram indicator
    without being handled? = punny def. of nameless (not having a "handle")

> Pretty good; the anagram isn't slap-in-your-face obvious, and the
> punny def is a good idea --- my 50-year-old dictionary doesn't
> admit to this meaning of "handle", but Webster's Ninth (among others)
> allows it.

====================================================================

SPELLBOUND

Loose blonde plus a cocktail ... absolutely enchanted. (10)

anagram indicator = loose ... a cocktail
anagram fodder = BLONDE PLUS
straight clue = absolutely enchanted = SPELLBOUND

(Couldn't resist that surface reading, but it isn't a "blonde" joke
honest. The clue just didn't work if I tried "redhead" or "brunette"!)

> The "loose blonde" is a nice combination, but I'd be a lot more
> satisfied with just one anagram indicator, and the "a" is rather
> unnecessary to the cryptic.

FOCI

Back-up intensive care of centres of operation (4)

reversal indicator = back-up
intensive care = IC
reversal fodder = IC + OF
straight clue = centres of operation = FOCI

> Okay cryptic and definition, but the surface only glancingly
> conveys the hospital-ward sense that (I think) was intended.

NAMELESS

Unidentified monster devours a famous Gibson (8)

monster = NESS
containment indicator = devours
famous Gibson = MEL
containment fodder = A+MEL
straight clue = unidentified = N (A+MEL) ESS = NAMELESS

> Reasonably nice surface; "monster" is an adequate but not great
> stand-in for "Ness" (I've never encountered the term "Ness 
> monster" without "Lake" in front of it).

====================================================================

NAMELESS:
Obscure salesmen! (8)
"obscure" -> anagram indicator, "salesmen" -> fodder... NAMELESS
Not much of an &lit, but I imagine most obscure salesmen qualify as
nameless.

> The clue works reasonably well, although "obscure" stretches my
> bounds of indicator acceptability, and, as the whole clue corresponds
> to a noun, I'd have to buy "nameless" as a noun (as though it were
> some sort of Hindu-society caste --- which it's not).

FOCI:
Fake gasp of relief was audible at the points of greatest concentration (4)
"fake" = FAUX, "gasp of relief" = SIGH
"was audible at" -> homophone indicator... FAUX SIGH = FOCI
"the points of greatest concentration" -> definition.

> Such a long clue for such a short word!  Nevertheless, it's right
> on the money in terms of its homophonic fidelity, and the definition
> meshes quite well with the surface.

SPELLBOUND:
Mean border held by the power of magic (10)
"mean" = SPELL, in the sense of, 'the smoke pouring out of my kitchen
  probably spells trouble.'  also looks like an anagram indicator.
"border" = BOUND
"held by the power of magic" -> definition, sneakily disguised as a
  hidden word.  not the best way to do this, but i thought the multiple
  misdirection was nice.

> And a pretty nice misdirection (the "hidden" red herring --- I 
> don't think "mean" would have struck me as an anagram indicator).  
> I'm not too fond of the surface:  what's a "mean border"?  A nasty 
> edge of a tapestry?  "Mean boarder" (that troublesome guy in room
> 3B who always grabs all the mashed potatoes at dinner) would have 
> been a better "read", but would have that troublesome extra "a".  
> "Border" cryptically cuts a little close to the meaning of "bound" 
> that makes up the compound word, but not illegally so.

====================================================================

SPELLBOUND

Entranced? Confused? Blondes pull endlessly (10)

Entraced - definition
Confused - anagram indicator
BLONDESPUL - fodder
endlessly - BLONDESPULL -> BLONDESPUL

> A legitimate anagram; I'm not overly attracted to the
> awkward-sounding "blondes pull" phrase, though; and I had
> hoped that the latter part of the clue would *resolve* the 
> confusion mentioned at the beginning rather than *increasing* it.

FOCI 

Music often provides reflection of points of concentration (4)

musICOFten - container fodder
provides reflection - reverse container indicator
points of concentration - definition

> Well-done cryptic; definition is well-orchestrated (!) with
> the surface, although the surface itself seems ever-so-slightly 
> "off" --- the "of" implies a relationship that just doesn't
> scan smoothly for me


NAMELESS

Anonymous 'ship of the desert' lost its head in Scottish loch (8)

Anonymous - definition
ship of the desert - reference to CAMEL
lost its head - CAMEL -> AMEL
in - inclusion indicator N(AMEL)ESS
Scottish loch - NESS (of the monster fame)

> Well-executed containment clue: even if I don't personally know
> any *named* camels, I can certainly appreciate one's distress
> at being stranded in the dampness of Scotia.

====================================================================

SPELLBOUND

Incantation guaranteed to leave you entranced (10)

Incantation = SPELL
guaranteed = BOUND
to leave you (the solver) = solution pointer
entranced = definition
(I suppose the two parts are too close, tant pis!)

> Well, the "spell" part *is* too close:  it's half of the
> compound word "spellbound", and you've used the exact
> connotation of "spell" that is "spellbound"'s basis;
> "guaranteed" is also related to the future tense of "bind".

FOCI

Starters, full of cooked ingredients, prove attractions (4)

Starters = acrostic indicator (surface = hors d'oeuvres)
Full Of Cooked Ingredients = acrostic
attractions = definition

> Interesting surface, although I'm unsure of wheter to 
> interpret it as "hors d'oeuvres at a cocktail party" or
> "cannibals got a hold of the 'A-team' at a sporting event"
> I'm less attracted to the definition; it lacks a "central" 
> element (e.g. "centers of attraction").

NAMELESS

Unrecognised ambiguous maleness (8)

Unrecognised = definition
ambiguous = anag indicator
maleness = anag fodder
(Surface sense of an hermaphrodite)

> Pretty good clue in all its aspects.
====================================================================

Word 1

In a daze, Hale maintains short lead (about 45 inches) (10)
=========  ---- ^^^^^^^^^ ----------  ^^^^^ ---------
           SOUND              PB               ELL

  Double container charade: S(P(ELL)B)OUND

  short lead = chemical abbreviation for lead

  Surface: Hale Irwin is a professional golfer.  No, I'm
  not sure either what the 45-inch lead refers to.

> Cryptically very, um, sound; clever use of "short lead".
> The surface does, though, suffer from the fact that, as far
> as I know, golfers' leads are expressed in strokes rather
> than inches --- hence, it's not really clear that "Hale"
> is referring to a golfer --- I rather thought you were 
> referring to Nathan Hale at first (just how long is a
> hangman's rope, anyway?).  Reference to "ell" forced me to
> consult the dictionary, where I learned that, had this been
> a Flemish cluing contest, Hale's short lead would have been
> only about 27 inches.

Query:  would you have admitted both a partial-anagram clue
 and an anagram clue from the same contestant?  I'd considered:

Fascinated by quiet bell vibrating amidst noise (10)

  ... S(P+ELLB)OUND (BELL anagram)

> Hard to say; the idea behind the "three different clue types"
> stipulation was to emulate "publishable cryptic" restrictions,
> which are often specifically designed to limit the number of
> anagrams.  I've never been able to determine from various
> publisher's "rules" whether a partial anagram counts in a
> "no more than one-third anagram"-restricted puzzle.

Word 2

Inverted logic often conceals points of interest (4)
^^^^^^^^    IC OF    ^^^^^^^^ ==================

  Reverse hidden clue.

> Good, solid clue; surface is, in fact, quite logical;
> makes good use of "inverted" in a "down" hidden-word clue.

Word 3

Mysterious traveling salesmen (8)
========== ^^^^^^^^^ ~~~~~~~~

  Anagram clue.  An easy one to solve.

> Another solid clue, with the now-apparent natural "traveling 
> salesmen" approach to the anagram.
====================================================================

SPELLBOUND

Hypnotized to relieve a perceived limitation (10)

  Hypnotized = definition
  to relieve = SPELL
  a perceived limitation = BOUND

  I know.  It's breaking a compound word on its boundary...
  Still better than anything else I could come up with.  :-)

> A very reasonable surface, at that.  The "spell" half avoids
> using a "magic" definition, but the "bound" half uses a
> meaning somewhat close to the "limit" meaning used to build 
> the compound.

---

FOCI

Centers start face-off on center ice (4)  

  Centers = definition
  start   = acrostic indicator
  face-off on center ice = acrostic fodder

> Great hockey theme, completely avoiding the often
> tortured surface of acrostic clues; decent indicator
> (a little on the easy side, of course, but so what?)
---

NAMELESS

Anonymous letters from salesmen (8)

  Anonymous = definition
  letters from = anagram indicator
  salesmen = anagram fodder

> Here we (re-) enter into the great anagram indicator
> debate:  my personal preference is for an "active" 
> indicator --- something which indicates the *explicit* 
> movement of letters (in this clue, such movement is, at best,
> implicit), yet at the same time being matched well enough 
> with the surface reading so as not to shout out "Hey; I'm 
> the anagram indicator!".  Another moderator may have designated 
> this as the epitome of subtle anagramming, I regard it as a legal
> but less-desirable style.  Reasonable surface (at least for a
> high-volume junk mail recipient like me).
====================================================================

SPELLBOUND

Music carries, softly building, extension Bach is fascinated by (10)
----- ^^^^^^^  ------ ------------------- ----    =============

	MUSIC --> SOUND
	CARRIES -- container indicator
	SOFTLY --> P
	BUILDING EXTENSION --> ELL
	BACH --> B
	[the cryptic is a charade-container: S(P+ELL+B)OUND]
	IS -- connector
	FASCINATED BY -- defn.

	I don't like BACH --> B that much, but it helps the surface a bit,
	and the FAQ supports the construct.

> Fairly good clue.  I particularly liked the "building, extension"
> cryptic construct; yet "extension Bach" scans a little awkwardly to me
> (or perhaps the surface needs a semi-colon after "building" or an "an"
> before "extension", although either would detract from the cryptic).  
> Too, when music "carries", I envision loud projection, which doesn't
> quite jibe with "softly building".  FAQ or no, I don't like the 
> Bach = B either.

FOCI

Centers nifty for fabricating ellipse! (4)
^^^^^^^   -    -       -         -

	CENTERS -- indicates center letters of following words
	[the cryptic is an acrostic-variant &lit.]
	This clue is a &lit.: an ellipse is constructed by plotting all
	points such that, given a constant N, the total distance from one
	focus to the point to the other focus equals N.
        Ellipse foci are also referred to as "centers" in some literature.

> Very well-executed acrostic &lit, IMHO:  solid cryptic; definition
> on the mark (well, "nifty" is a little too enthusiastic-sounding
> for the mundane task of drafting ovals; then again, maybe there are
> some who get a kick out of it).

NAMELESS

Unidentified bastard (8)

	This is a double-definition clue.
	(The difference between "not giving a name" and "not having
	a family name" is sufficient, I feel, to justify this as a
	double definition.)

(Yes, the third clue is the one I fear may be questionable.  I beg
your grace, as I do not intend the clue to serve as an insult.)

> As with a similar clue of this construct:  okay double def.
> I'm not insulted by the clue.  However, I don't fancy myself
> to be an archbishop, so you're treading on dangerous ground with
> the "your grace" part :-)
====================================================================

Word 1 - SPELLBOUND (8 down)			

Bay holds first priory's cracked bell transfixed (10)

container with anagram
	Bay - SOUND
	holds - container indicator
	first priory's - P
	cracked bell - ELLB
		so:  S-P-ELLB-OUND
	transfixed - definition of SPELLBOUND
I picture an ancient tree with a limb growing through the bell. 	

> Good thing you gave a "surface explanation"; I had first
> envisioned "bay" to mean "ocean inlet" rather than "tree", 
> making "submerged" more logical than "transfixed".  Given 
> that enlightenment, a pretty good clue.

Word 2 - FOCI       (11 down)				

Seats ninety-nine from back to front (4)

charade with reversal
	Seats - definition of FOCI
	ninety-nine - IC
	from - OF
	back to front - reversal indicator, for FOCI

> I can't say that "IC" is a downright illegal Roman numeral
> construct, but it is certainly atypical enough to qualify
> as obscure in my book (three years from now, the year, as
> far as I know, will be MCMXCIX and not MCMIC, no?).  "Seats"
> passes as a definition, and is pleasantly deceptive as a
> verb in the surface.

Word 3 - NAMELESS   (14 across)			

Unidentified salesman mugged (8)

anagram
	Unidentified - definition of NAMELESS
	salesman - anagram fodder for NAMELESS
	mugged - anagram indicator

> There's that salesman again!  A decent clue; nice use of 
> "mugged" as an uncommon but legal indicator.
> Here again we run into the moderator's dilemma:  the first
> word is a partial anagram and this one is a full anagram;
> does that violate this contest's bylaws?  The Overall 
> Moderator said it's up to me:  I guess I'll rule it "legal".
====================================================================

SPELLBOUND

  Enchanted body of water covered lead, about 45" (10)

  "Enchanted" = definition of SPELLBOUND
  "body of water" = SOUND
  "covered" = container indicator; "lead" = PB; S[PB]OUND
  "about" = container indicator; "about 45" = ELL (old British measure)
  = SP[ELL]BOUND
  Surface Comment: Even Superman couldn't see the bottom!

> Pretty good clue, although I have a little difficulty envisioning
> with what's being measured:  can't be surface area, because an 
> ell is a linear measure; presumably, must signify 45" deep ---
> but of water, or lead?

FOCI

  Heard enemy sound sorrowful accents (4)

  "Heard" = homophone indicator
  "enemy" = foe ; "sound sorrowful" = sigh
  "foe" + "sigh" sounds like FOCI
  "accents" = definition of FOCI (Webster)
  Surface Comment: at the Wailing Wall?

> Another very proper homophone clue with a decent surface.
> "Accents" is a very tricky definition; consultation with
> several dictionaries other than Webster's equate the verb
> forms ("emphasize") but not the nouns (as is mandatory when
> dealing with the plural "foci").  Webster's *does*, though,
> find a commonality ("emphasis"), and far be it from me to
> question the rulings of such an august publication.

NAMELESS

  Anonymous misplays mean less (8)

  "Anonymous" = definition of NAMELESS
  "misplays" = anagram indicator
  "mean less" = anagram fodder
  Surface Comment: That's why ball players in the old days 
   didn't wear numbers.

> Good cryptic; surface-wise, okay.

Bonus clue for FOCI:

  UFO civilizations hold central locations (4)

  Hidden word clue intended to conjure up sci-fi images
====================================================================