The Panjistri were a highly advanced, peaceful humanoid race possessing six fingers on each hand. Originally powerful telepaths, their abilities diminished over time, although some still retained the power. Their other five senses weakened over time due to reliance on telepathy, forcing them to rely on their Companions.
The Second Doctor visited the Panjistri homeworld to stock up on mercury. While there, he encountered a little girl named Lilith, repaired her doll and played his recorder for her. Unknown to him at the time, the weakened Timewyrm, who had gone back into the Doctor's personal timeline and was hiding inside him, transferred herself to Lilith.
Before their homeworld was destroyed by solar flares, eighty-four Panjistri were selected to leave in their spacecraft, Kandasi, and embark on a mission to prevent the end of the universe. They collected genetic samples of every surviving sentient species and used them to genetically engineer a perfect race, the Kirithons. They populated Kirith with their creations and manipulated their development to produce a civilisation free of violence or want. They experimented upon some, and took the wisest and most talented Kirithons to Kandasi to become part of their God Machine, which the Panjistri believed would be able to stop the Universe from ending. They were unaware that the Timewyrm, who had possessed their leader, the Grand Matriarch, desired to use the God Machine to conquer space and time. However, the God Machine instead destroyed Kandasi after it was evacuated, and the Panjistri and the Kirithons were forced to live together. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Apocalypse)