Focus

Read Sara Rosenbaum’s story: The boy is wired into the computer.

He is 8 years old and has gray cat-eyes. A little blond mohawk sticks up on his head like a strip of uncut grass. His right arm stops just below the elbow.

Its rounded end fits into a clear socket containing two electrodes. From there, two wires lead to the computer.

Boy and machine: a single circuit.

Greg Bauer, the prosthetist, asks him: “Are you ready for the moment of truth?”

“Yes,” Jonathan whispers. He’s been looking forward to this all week.

On the computer screen is a red bar. When Jonathan flexes one muscle in his elbow, the bar will jump.

Jonathan leans forward, looking down at his arm.

He concentrates.

Nothing happens.

“All right, my man,” Bauer says. “This is going to take a little bit of focus.”