Now, over in the west of Melbourne, the Doctor was with his companions Kai and Yui Hirasawa. While Yui was shopping with her friends, the Doctor and Kai were tasked with holding the girls' shopping. The Doctor said, "Kai, never take me out on a shopping trip with your wife again!"
While Yui and her friends went into a shop, the Doctor and Kai sat down, too tired to keep walking. Not long after, yells of, "(beep)ing Downie!" and "Get the tard!" were coming from the end of the shopping centre. A teenager with Down's syndrome was being chased by about 4 other males. The Down's syndrome teenager was pinned to the ground while he was kicked and beaten by the males.
Right at that moment, a couple of autistic kids had meltdowns. While their parents were trying to manage that, one of the males pointed to the two kids and yelled, "Get him, and get him!" A few more people just rushed at the autistic kids and their families and began beating them up.
The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and used it to activate an evacuation signal. He yelled, "Everyone, run!"
Yui and her friends ran out of the shop, then followed the Doctor and Kai to the TARDIS. The Doctor quickly took Yui's friends home before they decided where to go next. Despite Kai and Yui's suggestions, the Doctor was concerned about what happened at the shopping centre that day.
"I've heard things like this happening on the news. These people bully people because they see them looking or acting different. Conformity is an important thing in Earth society. People aren't letting people be themselves. I don't think everyone will ever be able to agree."
Kai asked, "So, what do you think we should do?"
"People have been looking for the cause of autism for many years. People have been blaming it on vaccines, genetics, whatever. There was a reason why I had to destroy Gallifrey to end the Time War. It wasn't just because the Time Lords wanted to become gods, it was because they tried to modify the biology of humans in order to make more Time Lords. I don't know how they did it because I was too busy fighting in the Time War, but now, I want to know."
Yui said, "So, are you going to change the past by preventing whatever the Time Lords were doing?"
"I can't even change the past. The future is fixed thanks to people learning about autism and people bullying people with autism. Changing it would mean the end of the universe. We're just going to see how it happened, then leave."
The Doctor pulled the lever and activated the TARDIS. They eventually landed, even though it wasn't the place they intended. The Doctor wondered, "Oh, the TARDIS is afraid. She doesn't want to go there, but she's taken us here instead. We're only three years into the future." The Doctor, Kai and Yui came out and found themselves parked just across from a school. To the left of them were the Hidamari Apartments…
Fact File: Down's syndrome
Also known as trisomy 21. A genetic disorder caused by the presence of a third copy of chromosome 21. Unfortunately, people with Down's syndrome require regular screening for health problems. Sometimes, autism is also diagnosed as well.