code: public static String getSerializedVectorClock(VectorClock vc) {
          VectorClockWrapper vcWrapper = new VectorClockWrapper(vc);
          String serializedVC = "";
          try {
              serializedVC = mapper.writeValueAsString(vcWrapper);
          } catch(Exception e) {
              e.printStackTrace();
          }
          return serializedVC;
      }
docs: Function to serialize the given Vector clock into a string. If something
  goes wrong, it returns an empty string.
  
  @param vc The Vector clock to serialize
  @return The string (JSON) version of the specified Vector clock