The matter that makes up the pillar is strange, to say the least. It is as if the pillar isn't complete and that he is only seeing half of it and yet the other half is also here in this plane of existence but just inaccessible by any means of determination. The pillar is both tangible and phantom. The state of the tangible pillar is being mimicked by the phantom pillar in an undisclosed situation through a link of entangled matter.
He has been scanning the pillar ever since messengers from the racial council brought it a few weeks ago. He knew it was special the moment he saw it for different reasons. For the first reason, his eyes could pick up on the specialness of the pillar. He figured out what the pillar does immediately after he saw it. In layman's terms, it converts beings with soul bodies into energy that is transmitted to a destination where they are then reconstructed. The pillar is both a processor and a transmitter.