The Young Apprentice

His best friends are Logan, 9, and Rodrick, 10. Separately or together, they are frequent visitors, getting lost for hours in Marcus's basement, playing air hockey, pinball and video games. The three are "like brothers," Marcus said. Rodrick is black. Logan is white, like most of his classmates -- a fact that means little to Marcus.

"There are kids who are white. There are kids who are black," he said. "There's no difference."

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'They'll Want Marcus'

Kim Yarboro grew up in Columbus, Ohio, attending Catholic schools and making friends easily across racial lines. Unlike her husband, who is more guarded, Kim shares her concerns about Marcus with her mostly white colleagues at work, where she is a manager for a new Marine Corps amphibious vehicle. She doesn't want Marcus to dwell on racism. She certainly doesn't.

Fat people, skinny people, poor people -- everyone has a social hurdle to clear, Kim said. She is concerned that Marcus not view himself as a victim or project that image.

"I want people to see Marcus and see that he's a well-rounded citizen in the United States," Kim said. "Not some castaway, you know, 'Let's put him to the side.' People may try to do that, but he will have the equipment that won't allow them to. They'll want Marcus."

But her husband wonders whether the blurring of racial lines is a cruel ruse. He's had his share of unwarranted police stops, Mark said, like the time an officer told him that his new sports car "drew a lot of attention."

"Mine wasn't the only one on the road," he said.

"My fear," he said of his son, "is that no matter how qualified he is, how smart . . . that he can't move in society as well as his education level, his skill level should allow him. I have read too much, seen too much. It's not hard for me to believe that a young black person could get jacked up and not do anything wrong."

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Surpassing the Old Man