What's the nature of the Crystalline Entity's feeding beam?

[Timo]

Why after? During, would be my bet. And it would rip out more than yer average mind-eater: not just emotions like Redjac or Mellitus, or Tuvok's fancy disease in "Flashback", but everything, this being a space buzzard of sorts that goes all the way to the bones and leaves nothing to waste. A side effect would be greater physical destructiveness than in the Redjac case.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Qonundrum]

It's composed of omnomnomnomitron particles.

It's akin to a neutron bomb in something like concentrated toothpaste form that the silicon critter emits.

That, or I believe the technology was first developed at their installation at the ironically named Living Island, by engineers Benita Bizarre and Horatio J Hoodoo. After inventing a pesticide to take care of all of those nasty bugaloos with...