In Cape Town in the near future, a vast arid slum is almost all that is left of the city after cataclysmic climate collapse has wreaked havoc on the land. Only The Citadel is sheltered from the harsh realities of the outside world. But at what cost? Here people pass their days lost in virtual reality, courtesy of a biotech implant connected to their mind, blind to what is really going on. How did things get so bad in such a short time?

Spanning from the present day until this dystopian fate, It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way traces the story of three men as they face the rapid unravelling of the world around them. Luthando’s environmental activism leads him to a clash with the government. His life partner, Viwe, becomes embroiled in religious end-of-days fanaticism. And their friend Malcolm is worried that his work in the technological augmentation of human memory is being used for sinister purposes.

A story about resilience, and our capacity for love in the face of fear.