Standalone Sci Fi Novels Pulses

Aldebaran works day after day in a factory, cleaning the nuts and bolts of the machines. He cannot miss a day of work without running the risk of death, this has been his life for as long as he can remember. One day however, he is presented the opportunity to escape such misery, and his entire life unravels before his very eyes. He finds that there is an entire world out there, that he never knew existed. Can Aldebaran adapt to such a radical change in his life? Can he survive the many dangers that this new world harbors? Or is he destined to just be the cog in the machine, utterly useless once removed?