@AGGH This concept was not picked up in the novel at all, however, the mass-energy concept and how astrophage utilizes the concept has been explicitly stated. If you remember the discussion between Dr. Lokken and Dr. Grace, she shows him a paper that is the most advanced theory on the concept; astrophage has the mass-equivalent of it's energy stored as neutrinos and when two of them collide, photons are released with energy adhering to the famous mass-energy equation, and with the particular Petrova wavelength (25.984 micron).
Since the key to energy release in astrophage is neutrino annihilation, the energy is actually stored up as mass as long as the astrophage is conserved (the fuel astrophage, that is), and taumoeba eating it up is consuming mass, not the equivalent converted energy. And since taumoeba have no such energy conversion mechanism, the mass remains mass, and energy doesn't come up at all.
Please correct the theory wherever faulty.
