* changes to it will <i>not</i> be reflected in this {@code HashCode} object or any other arrays
   * returned by this method.
   */
  // TODO(user): consider ByteString here, when that is available
  public abstract byte[] asBytes();

  /**
   * Copies bytes from this hash code into {@code dest}.
   *
   * @param dest the byte array into which the hash code will be written