First published by Janet Asimov and Isaac Asimov in 1991, this Science Fiction Adventure story is the tenth story in The Norby Chronicles.
Space Academy is having a week-long spring break, and Jeff wants to go visit the planet Izz. Norby points out that he just flunked an important science exam, so he needs to study first. Then Admiral Yobo calls and insists that if the duo are planning on any hyperspace trips, he must be invited along. They tell him about Izz having a toy and game faire, with Ing as Master of Ceremonies. Ing has been doing very well in the royal court; having expanded from Court Jester to also being Court Scientist, in charge of the broadcast center, and (as mentioned), the MC of the game faire. The admiral still distrusts Ing, and is resolved to make sure that Ing isn’t up to his usual villainy. He also reminds Jeff about flunking the recent exam.
When they arrive, they discover that Princess Rinda is sick and Pera has disappeared. What subterfuge might be going on beneath the daily operations of the Royal Court? Is Admiral Yobo correct in assuming Ing is the cause of it?
Norby and the Court Jester contains examples of the following tropes:
- Brainwashed: Due to the nature of the virtual reality video game named Teenytrip, the Mainframe can send a Trojan Horse virus that causes the population to anticipate a great change in society. After the plot is uncovered, the royal family realizes that they can't actually undo the brainwashing, and will have to find some similar social upheaval that will satisfy their citizen's urge for change.
- Computer Virus: The Fictional Video Game, Teenytrip, is used by the villain of the story as a vehicle for a trojan virus to be delivered to the minds of the players, as long as the game is hooked up to the Mainbrain.
- Dedication: This book is dedicated to John Ray Jeppson, Janet's younger brother.
- Explosive Overclocking: When Jeff wants to get past a locked door, Ing advises him to overload the stun gun he has. Jeff tries that, and the explosion breaks down the door, just as predicted.
- Fictional Video Game: In chapter one, Norby has the idea to make a feely (an virtual reality video game) where you can experience life on the submolecular level. Later on, in chapter six, he discovers that Ing has already designed one, and named it Teenytrip. Later on, the protagonists discover that the game is being fed a Computer Virus, brainwashing the population of Izz.
- Heir Club for Men: The inheritance and deaths of a few generations ago nearly causes a Succession Crisis in this book. Queen Tizzle's great-great-uncle Orz was the older of the two boys born to the then-queen of Izz. Since there was no female to inherit the throne, Orz chose to abdicate, and allow his younger brother, Narrin, to rule instead. However, Orz's first wife divorced him, and he remarried to produce a son. Garus is related through male ancestors to Queen Tizzle. What's more, Orz's first wife remarried, and had a daughter. Xeena is her descendant, through matrilineal inheritance, giving her a claim to the throne that she attempts to act upon in this novel.
- Hyperaffixation: The planet Izz has the Izzcapital, of Izzcontinent, has nationwide entertainment created at Izzbroadcasting. The royal family has a court of advisors, the Izzcouncil, that meet in the Izzhall. At the end of the novel, the royal family proposes to turn Izzcouncil into an Izzparliament.
- Improv: While Ing's previous appearance indicated some amount of In-Universe improvisation talent, this story forces him to think on his feet several times, and he's forced to rely on Jeff and Norby joining in on the improvisations as well. He's quick enough to put together Limerick when they suddenly appear from hyperspace while Ing is performing live.
- Improvised Lockpick: Ing has a hat/helmet with a thin gold pick. He wears it so that he has an excuse for keeping a lockpick around when he's acting as a Don Juan.
- Inside a Computer System: The concept of virtual reality games are called "feelies", due to the way they interact with your brain and create the impressions of sense-stimulus. A Fictional Video Game in this story provides a central plot element, as the program is corrupted by a Computer Virus that Brainwashes the players.
- Limerick: At the end of chapter nine, when Jeff, Norby, and Blawf appear (from hyperspace) on stage with Ing, the Court Jester immediately improvises a verse to chase them away.Citizens, you should beware
Robots who come out of air—
Interlopers, begone!
A curse hereupon
If you don't exit my fair! - Master Computer: Both Mainbrain One and Mainbrain Two are designed to operate for millennia without repairs, and to support a fully-computerized society. Norby senses them and comments that they feel immense.
- Polka-Dot Disease: The people of Izz sometimes get ickyspot, which includes dots on the skin. Rinda is fortunately just getting over her illness when the story begins. The final chapter has Norby reveal that the disease is already known on Earth, as chickenpox.
- Shout-Out:
- Christopher Marlowe is mentioned, as Admiral Yobo cites a line from Doctor Faustus upon seeing Xeena, "Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships, and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?", drawing a parallel between the two beauties that is persistently referenced through the book.
- While in charge of entertainment for the planet Izz, Ing has been re-telling many stories from the past, including parts of The Iliad, such as Helen of Troy.
- In chapter five, Admiral Yobo and Ing quote from Gilbert and Sullivan's The Yeomen of the Guard, speaking of the way a jester’s role is to satirize other people, including royalty.
