Figure Eight Island Figure Eight Island Figure Eight Island is a North Carolina barrier island just north of Wrightsville Beach, widely known as an affluent summer colony and vacation desitination. The island is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Area, and lies between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. As a private island, Figure Eight can only be reached by boat or via a guarded causeway swing bridge — the only private bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway in the Southeast. The island has been a destination for celebrities and politicians, including former Vice President Al Gore and Senator John Edwards, — and a
In the Penal Colony the Explorer prepares to leave by boat, he repels the efforts of the Soldier and Condemned to come aboard. Frank Zappa, in the liner notes of the Mothers of Invention album "We're Only in It for the Money", recommends reading the short story before listening to the track "The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny." Ian Curtis of the band Joy Division was inspired by "In the Penal Colony" to write the song "Colony" from the album "Closer". The novel "The Shadow of the Torturer", by Gene Wolfe, follows the exploits of a member of a guild of torturers. At one